Reborn to be a Duelist
by UnlockedPotential
Summary: I never bore much responsibility during my lifetime, so I wonder who gave anyone the right to thrust me into Y5D's with the sole purpose of guiding the Signers. But what can I say – I was reborn to be a duelist. OC Self Insert. The Pre-WRGP Arc has begun! Future Yusei/OC.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own

Reborn to Be a Duelist

Chapter 1- A Life's Renewal

- _Reincarnation makes life what it is intended to be – a glorious adventure in which victory is absolutely sure to be ours if we persist. It proves that man is master of his fate on his road to the stars_ \- Shaw Desmond

* * *

My name is Skylar Kameyo and just so you know, I am anything but ordinary. It may sound cliché but quite frankly I couldn't care less if you've heard it before from multiple persons. It's true that every person is different and therefore by some extent not ordinary but my situation is somewhat…unique.

I mean how many girls can say that they were reborn into an anime?

…I'm getting a bit ahead of myself so I'll start from the beginning and tell you a little about my life- a little about my first life.

In my former life I was…unmotivated. I lacked the drive to do anything significant- anything that would make persons stop and say 'wow'.

I was ordinary- ordinary in the looks department as well as the academic one, which came as a real shocker to most persons, considering who my family was.

 _"Isn't your younger sister that girl who skipped a few grades? And now she's in high school instead of middle school?"_

 _"You'd think her grades would be better seeing as her mom's head of the PTA. I'd be so embarrassed if I were her mom."_

 _"You know your father is a hero- all the people who died for our country are."_

Ironically, the speeches about my dad were the ones that always got me upset. I didn't think he did anything special. All he had done was abandon his family. All he was now, was just a name engraved on a piece of rock where thousands and thousands of other names were.

I didn't see the need for me to be more than another face in the crowd. I didn't need any more attention than I already had. It made no sense for me to get anyone's hopes up, fool them into expecting something great, only to fall short of this unspoken standard they all had.

I just wanted to graduate high school, get an average job and maybe have a couple of kids later on in life.

That's what I wanted…but that's not what I got.

I died before I even graduated and then I was given a task.

* * *

How did I die? It was an accident involving (Ironically enough I would later muse) a bike. Funny thing about bikes, you see they have a smaller mass compared to cars, which they often made up in velocity, plus they can fit in smaller spaces. What am I trying to get at you may ask.

The answer my friends is 'Momentum and Collision'.

I had been sauntering across the street when some biker dude, who was speeding by the way, crashed into me and so thus ended my life.

I was…disappointed if I were to tell the truth. At the risk of sounding like a hypocrite, I thought it was a waste of a life, considering the fact that I hadn't been doing anything much to contribute to the betterment of my family, peers or society on a whole (nor had I really planned to), but…I thought it was a waste nonetheless.

It turned out, I wasn't the only one that thought so.

I had been stuck in some sort of limbo, which gave me pause because really I was expecting either red hot flames or white fluffy clouds, when I was visited by a celestial (I guess it could be called that) creature.

The thing is I'd seen it before…in an anime.

The celestial being turned out to be the Crimson Dragon. It had appeared out of nowhere with a loud roar while I had been floating around in a dark void. Its crimson glow was ethereally bright, it seemingly lit up the entire space and I had difficulties looking directly at it.

I had partially shielded my eyes with the sleeve of my shirt, but I stared at it, mouth agape nonetheless. I didn't know what to do or say, not knowing that such an encounter was possible. It stared back at me, its gaze unwavering as its body seemed to dance as we floated there.

Truthfully, its movement reminded me of that of an eel swimming in the ocean, but I kept that thought myself. No doubt the dragon would take offence and since it could swallow me whole as easily as it breathed in and out I wasn't up for taking any chances.

And that was another thought.

 _Was it going to eat me?_

Before I could express emotions apart from shock, the Crimson Dragon roared at me but oddly enough instead of being scared out of my mind, I felt…calm – unusually calm.

That was because the dragon had not used its ear-drum shattering cry to intimidate me. Instead it – he had communicated with me.

Faint, broken whispers were in my head, saying the same thing over and over.

 ** _'A life shall be…renewed. Born again…in a world that is not…your own.'_**

I thought that I was going crazy. Voices in my head? A renewed life? Seriously? (And if he was going to speak via mind-link, why did it have to roar?)

Maybe I was crazy.

The Crimson Dragon roared again, the cry so loud that it practically reverberated throughout the void.

 ** _'The one that hears…The Signers' Keeper.'_**

I didn't get it, what did I hear or what was I supposed to hear? And since when have the Signers needed a Keeper? None of what I was hearing made any sense and even if it did then it sounded like a lot of responsibility to shoulder.

The Dragon let out another mighty cry as if sensing my line of thought.

 ** _'No choice,'_** was the reply that was whispered within my head.

I bristled. I hated when persons told me what to do. I couldn't even die without someone bossing me around, because here I was stuck in Limbo with a dragon, from an anime no less, giving me orders.

"There's always a choice," I replied indignantly, my shoulders squared and my chin slightly lifted in the air. My gaze hardened as I looked at the dragon past the sleeve of my shirt, daring him to tell me otherwise.

The Crimson Dragon did not appear to be pleased with my outburst but when he roared for the final time, he did not do so to express his displeasure and intimidate me. Instead I heard:

 ** _'Then make the…right ones.'_**

Before I could snap back at the celestial creature, the Crimson Dragon shot towards me with his mouth open.

My fight or flight instincts kicked in and I instantly turned to try and escape the dragon's crimson jowls.

I couldn't help the scream that sounded from out of my mouth as I realized that I wasn't going to make it. I thought I was going to die again, but this time I was food for a giant lizard. How pathetic.

When the Dragon's mouth closed over my body, it became dark again, until I saw a bright, white light in the distance. It was like a beacon, it had been the only light I had seen in who knows how long, apart from the Crimson Dragon's eerie crimson glow that is.

I felt myself floating towards it, but I couldn't have stopped even if I had tried. My body had gone boneless upon feeling the warmth it had emitted. It was such a soothing change compared to the dark numbness of the void.

My eyelids sagged and I vaguely wondered if I would finally be able to go sleep. Apparently in Limbo sleep had been impossible, you couldn't do much of anything really. All I had done since I was there was float and stare out into the darkness. It was a wonder I hadn't gone crazy from being all alone with nothing but the sound of my voice to entertain myself.

As the light increased in intensity, I realized that I didn't want to close my eyes for it to be dark again. I was too scared that when I woke up, if I woke up, the light would be gone.

So I fought to keep my eyes open, even as the light began to hurt my eyes more and more.

 ** _'Rest. Sleep.'_**

As I felt my consciousness fade, I realized that it unnerved me how quickly I heeded the voice.

* * *

Word Count: 1377

A/N: I started this story some years ago. Some parts are revised some parts are not. As the story continues I may come back and edit earlier chapters. I'll inform when/where necessary. Either way, constructive criticism is welcomed and appreciated. Oh, and the cover image is of Daffodils which symbolize 'Rebirth' and 'New Beginnings'. I hope to get a more fitting cover image in the near future.

Thanks for reading.

U.P: Sign Out


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh!5Ds

Chapter 2- Getting to Know Skylar

 _\- In three words I can sum up everything I've learnt about life: it goes on-_ Robert Frost

* * *

 **Beep! Beep! Beep!**

I sighed as I turned in my bed and pressed a spare pillow against my head in an attempt to block out the sound of my annoying alarm clock. When that didn't work I threw aforementioned pillow at the table, effectively knocking the alarm clock off of it.

I really wanted to sleep just a bit longer. But the blaring of the electronic clock on the ground by my bedside seemed to get louder with each passing second, so I had no choice but to get up and turn it off.

I had every intention of going back to bed, but I remembered that I had school today. Disappointingly enough the [1]Yugioh 5D's world was a lot similar to the one I left behind. One of the many downsides being the fact that I had to go to school on a Saturday.

After I had been swallowed by the Crimson Dragon I had been reborn as [2]Skylar Kameyo, the only child/daughter of a single mom. When I had realized that it was just me and my new 'mommy', I had chuckled at the irony of it all. It seemed as if some things in life really didn't change, even second lives.

I stretched tiredly as I as padded towards my bathroom, my steps echoing a bit throughout the empty apartment despite the fact that it was carpeted. The silence had been something I had grown used to. I had about five years to do so anyways. Mainly because it's been five years since the death of my Y5D's mom passed away.

It had happened so unexpectedly. If it wasn't for the fact that at the time I was a six year old with a twenty-something year old mentality, I'm pretty sure I would have been even more devastated than I had been.

After I had finally gotten over the fact that I had been reincarnated into an anime (and the fact that I was conscious of my own birth), I had entertained thoughts of not getting attached to anyone.

That plan hadn't worked. At all.

It would have helped if my new mommy had had some sort of resentment towards me, whether it was because I looked exactly like the man who left her when she was pregnant or that I may have been the reason he left her in the first place. Maybe if I wasn't so mentally developed I wouldn't have noticed all the things she did (the loving smile she always wore when she held me in her warm embrace, the adoring looks that I always received) or the things I did, like refusing to eat my food most of the times or waking up crying at all times of the day. I felt incredibly guilty knowing that I was the cause of numerous bags under her eyes, because when I could help to not do stuff like that, I didn't.

As I grew, I only came to care for her more and more. So when she left for the hospital and only my Aunt came back, looking nothing short of shattered…

After that it was pretty hard for me and my Aunt for a while, more so my Aunt. I guessed that she felt particularly anxious, both because she had lost her only sibling and the fact that she had problems staying in one place for too long.

I sighed, having finally reached the bathroom, as I removed my clothing to take a quick shower.

The end of the shower found me standing on a stool (I really hoped for a growth spurt soon) in front of the bathroom sink, staring at my reflection.

Not for the first time, I noted the differences between my previous body and my current one. Before, I was dark skinned with black hair and dark brown eyes, now I was light skinned (borderline pale actually) and though I had the same black hair, my eyes were of a bright emerald colour. My hair was still short and was in a boy cut. It didn't seem as if it was going to grow taller than the length it currently was.

With all that said and done…I seriously thought that I could pass for an effeminate anime version of Harry Potter.

My lips twitched up and I smiled a bit to myself. The transition from death to life had messed with my memories a bit but I was still able to remember quite a few things. That was good, great actually. It made my job as a keeper all that easier. All I had to do was ensure that I didn't alter anything too much up until the original time line, meet up with everyone around the Fortune Cup time and then I'd be pretty much okay…hopefully.

I mean, it wasn't as if there was a manual for me to go by. I hadn't even asked for any of this.

I frowned slightly as my eyes wandered to the back of my right hand. I traced the marking there. My mother had told me that I had been born with it like the way it was, that it was a 'special' birth mark. She was right, but I knew just a bit more about just how the marking on my hand was 'special'.

It was a reminder of my duties in this life. The Crimson Dragon had marked me, had branded me. The outline of the Crimson Dragon, though miniature, spoke volumes of the path that I was intended to walk.

The sound of my alarm going off again stopped me from glaring at my mark. With one last glare at sign on my hand I exited the bathroom and dressed myself in my Duel Academy uniform.

In truth, I actually wore the boys' attire. I was never one for skirts. They made me feel uncomfortable.

My uniform consisted of a blue jacket, with a blue shirt, a red tie, black pants and a pair of black sneakers with blue laces. I never knew that the Duel Academy was so strict either. The school actually told you what colour backpack you had to carry. As I was a lower class man and since I was wearing the boys' uniform I had to carry a green backpack. The girls carried red backpacks. I had never really taken notice to such things when I had watched the anime. I mean it had then seemed so trivial, but it sure as Hades mattered now.

It had taken quite a bit of pleading to convince the principal to let me wear the guys' uniform. It had almost turned into a temper tantrum right there in the Principal's office and afterwards, although I had been successful in being allowed to wear the boys' uniform, I was grounded for a month for my 'unruly and embarrassing' behaviour. At least that's what my Aunt called it before she left to go to another city. She had only been in the city that day because it had been a requirement by the Duel Academy that the parent/guardian of an enrolling student be present with them.

I scratched my head tirelessly as I made my way to the kitchen. After making my breakfast, which consisted of warm tea alongside two slices of bread with jam on both of them. I sat around the small table that was in the kitchen and began eating my food. It wasn't exactly gourmet, but it was as much as I wanted.

As I munched on a piece of bread I pondered, and not for the first time, the fact that I was actually living alone.

When my mommy had died, my Aunt had wanted to take me with her on her travels. I had adamantly refused, stating that I needed a steady home and that I didn't want to leave the one place I knew, Casper City, behind.

Of course those had only been surface reasons. My real reason for wanting to stay in Casper City was so that I could attend Casper City's Duel Academy.

I had some experience with dueling in my other life via video games. I even had quite the collection of cards as well, but I knew that dueling via video games was quite different from actually dueling for real with all the card animations and such.

Despite the fact that I was in no way pleased with the role I had been cast to play, I needed to be prepared nonetheless. I needed to hone my dueling skills as much as possible, if I planned on keeping up with the Signers and whatever else that was bound to happen.

My Aunt had eventually agreed to let me live on my own, conditionally of course. She had made me move out of the house where my mom and I had lived and into her very first apartment, which was in a small complex, where she was great friends with the landlord and his wife.

I had no problems living there at all. The landlord and his lady treated me well. The only problem I had was that their son was a bit of a stuck up brat. I had dinners with them most nights while others had me eating microwaveable food or cup ramen. The landlady was also helping me learn how to cook, something I had never been able to do well before.

A knock at my apartment door startled me out of my thoughts.

"Skylar-chan," that was the landlady, "I hope you're getting ready, it's almost time for you to leave for school."

I responded in the affirmative before finishing the last of my tea and clearing the table. After which I set to wash up the plates that I had dirtied.

As I did so I smiled faintly to myself. That was yet another thing she always did. She was also the one to take me shopping to get the things I needed like clothing, basic toiletries and school supplies as well (though why the brat had to come along was beyond me). I was aware that it was indeed, my Aunt who gave her the money for all that stuff but it was still nice of her to even bother.

I knew that my Aunt paid the rent monthly. She spoke with me at least twice every week. I also got a fortnightly allowance which I used to buy Duel cards, Duel disks and a few manuals on Turbo Dueling and Duel Runners/D-wheels. I had every intention of learning how to turbo duel at a later age so I needed to have the basics down pat.

Finally finished with the dishes, I stood in front of the full length mirror that was beside my bed and smoothed out my uniform. Glancing over to my alarm clock I saw that it was about 6:40 a.m. I had gotten up at about 5:30 a.m. and School didn't start until 7:45 a.m.

This meant that I could head to the park before going to school (It was on my way to school anyway. Almost halfway in fact) as I found myself doing for quite a while now.

With a small grin at my reflection, I grabbed my backpack as well as the large sketchpad, which had been safely on top of my dresser, then promptly left my apartment room but not before making my departure known to the landlady and her family.

* * *

The buildings in Casper City reminded me of those that I saw in countless of magazines about New Domino City, only smaller. It was just as commercial as New Domino City though, maybe even more so.

The park was a relief to look at. It gave your eyes a break when all you've been seeing after walking down street after street is nothing but seemingly continuous rows of buildings with shiny, reflective surfaces (though for the most part I could appreciate the fact that the architecture was on point), a couple of shrubs here and there and trees that if they were any thinner, they wouldn't be there.

The Yuurei Park was the only decently sized park in the entire city and it was absolutely beautiful. There were different kinds of flower bushes all over, either by the fence encircling the park or encompassing several large trees.

I especially loved the walkways. The stone pathways were bordered by neatly trimmed hedges that bore flowers of different varieties and trees whose wide sturdy branches created a natural archway.

All in all, it was like another world. Out there in Casper City, it was all the hustle and bustle of the real world that I remembered (though only vaguely) plus a whole lot more. Technology in the Y5D's world was like something out of the future (granted that it technically was a kind of future). Everything was sleek and new and [3] _fast_.

Not that I had that much of a problem with fast (I was kind of fated to go 'fast'). It was just that I felt as if everyone was going forward in such a way that I didn't feel I could keep up with.

Yuurei Park took me back in time, where I didn't feel the need to adjust my pace to the things happening around me, because I didn't have to.

As I sat Indian Style on my favourite bench, the one that had branches of a Sakura Tree hanging over it, I couldn't help the large smile my lips formed. I enjoyed times like these.

My eyes drifted down to the sketchpad perched upon my lap. Without pause I took it in my hands and pressed it against my chest.

A definite upside to the whole reincarnation thing was the fact that I had discovered a passion for Art. I don't remember how it had happened, how it had all started, but somewhere along the line (though I was pretty sure that I had been drawing since I could hold a pencil and before my motor skills were fully developed), I ended up being good at drawing and then becoming interested in Art overall and I was happy about that.

As a result I drew whatever I could, whenever I could, though I personally enjoyed drawing scenery. It was really fun.

I sighed contently as I rose from my seated position. I never had enough time to actually draw whenever I came to the park before school. I usually just came to enjoy the clement atmosphere and to peruse my sketchpad every now and then.

On the matter of perusing however.

I opened my sketchpad and turned to my most recent drawing. My fingers traced lightly over the image of a serpentine dragon with butterfly wings and long, slender human like hands. I had sketched upon its head, on its hands and part of its upper body, some sort of armour that was mostly gold. The dragon was a sort of green…or blue, I hadn't been able to get all of its colours right.

I had only had a short view of it anyways.

Nonetheless I had recognized the dragon almost immediately. It had been Ancient Fairy Dragon. My drawing was of Ancient Fairy Dragon.

I wondered why I had seen her in my dream in the first place. I was pretty sure that I had at least six or seven more years before things really started. So getting random glimpses of dragons and symbols and landmarks, when I should be enjoying some semblance of a normal life while I had the chance (and that involved having dreams about regular stuff like talking hamsters, walking skeletons, or a hot-dog playing a piano) annoyed me.

I ended up drawing what I dreamed about at those times and that usually led to me using up a lot of sketchpads.

As I finally closed my sketchpad and rose from the bench and into a stretch I vaguely wondered what the Signers would think if they ever saw my drawings. I had quite a few of them.

I snorted to myself, thinking that they would probably peg me as some kind of fan-girl.

With one final glance around I took up my belongings and made my way out of the park. A look up at the clock made me realize that it was about 7:23 am.

School would be starting soon.

Casper City Duel Academy. Now that in itself was a whole other playing field- literally.

* * *

Word Count: 2965

* * *

Notes:

[1] Skylar is in the Original/Japanese version of Y5D's a.k.a not the dub. But she has only watched the dub.

[2] Note that Skylar, though aware of the fact that she's now Japanese and all, still prefers English Protocol rather than Japanese as she finds it less confusing and thereby more comfortable. Thus she does poorly in Japanese but well in English. She also, more often than not neglects to address people, be it in the confine of her mind or otherwise, properly i.e. that's why she says stuff like Mrs Jane instead of Jane-sama

[3] Skylar is experiencing kind of a 'when did it all change, and so suddenly, and without me' sort of feeling. She wasn't 'born' into the Y5D's world with a fresh i.e. 'new born' mind to readily and willingly and ably adapt to/soak up everything. Coming from 2012/11 where the tech is not so far ahead (where she was concerned anyways), she kinda feels a bit overwhelmed. 'Fast' translates to advanced.

* * *

A/N: Tell me if the numbers in parentheses within the text body bothers anyone please. And I'm working on how to give better descriptions so please bear with me for now.

I have two other stories up apart from this one (Please check those out as well and let me know what you think), but of the three stories, this one is my baby, like I said I wrote it some time ago and I have a lot planned for it. Thank you to those who have viewed/followed/favourited thus far. I sincerely appreciate it.

Constructive criticism/comments/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

U.P.: Sign Out


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh!5D's

Chapter 3- Duel Academy: It's Still School

 _Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence-_ Robert Frost

* * *

Attending Casper City Duel Academy was just like attending all the schools I did in my other life. It was all shockingly similar.

The main difference, though, was that we had Duel Lessons every day. I had always thought that all they did at the Duel Academy was teach kids about dueling. So when I had read the school guide book that came with my entrance package and found that I was expected to learn things that didn't have anything to do with dueling, I was surprised.

Then I realized that I should have expected as much and that it all made sense.

It was a simple known fact that not all the persons who attended Duel Academy would go on to become professional duelists. This could be for a number of reasons. Be it that along the way persons realized that they have a higher calling in another career field or that they were never cut out for dueling in the first place. Then they were those who wanted to become professional duelists but didn't want to dedicate their entire lives to it.

It balanced out too I guess. Because the world didn't just need duelists. The world needed doctors, mechanics, teachers and artists as well.

It was practical. It was realistic (At least as far as an anime can be considered).

* * *

I was a lowerclassman and a first year. That, I often theorized, may be some of the reasons why most persons at the Duel Academy tended to ignore me.

Though that seemed like a plausible excuse for persons at higher levels in the Academy, the same could not be said for the members of my year group. To put it simply most persons snuffed me while others were neutral (a kind of tolerance of my presence and civil responses whenever interaction takes place).

Personally, I thought that most of them were snobs.

So upon entering my classroom, when barely anyone acknowledged my presence (and for the few that did it was with a sharp nod in my direction), I wasn't all that torn up about it.

 _Some things never change even if dimensions do._

I may have contributed to their behaviours though. I just never had time to stop and talk about things as trivial as the up and coming teen heartthrob Cas Dillon. Who knew that something as simple as that would ostracize me from 2/3 of the class?

Apparently I was no more than a 'bitter commoner'.

I shrugged off my school bag and sat in my seat before reaching into my bag to pull out one of my duelling texts.

No sooner had I done that had my desk been surrounded by girls that I dubbed the 'Trouble Trio'. They were currently the bane of my existence.

First off you had the Tsundere Twins- Mikado and Mitsuko Arashi. There wasn't much to them in terms of the looks department (though admittedly I'm not really one to talk). Brown hair, brown eyes, tanned skin- truly mirror twins.

And then there was Aiko Prince. If the Tsundere Twins were electrons then Aiko Prince would be the nucleus around which they revolved.

"Good morning Kame-chu!" Aiko greeted brightly. I had to shield my eyes from the sparkle attack that resulted from her greeting.

"Oi, Aiko greeted you," Mikado, who was definitely the bolder, more outspoken of the twins, groused when I made no effort to respond.

I stared at her blankly, and not for the first time, wondered how neither she, her sister nor our classmates didn't see what I saw- the sheer insincerity that was Aiko Prince.

She'd act all sweet and bubbly and naïve when truly she was just as spoilt and manipulative as pretty little rich girls came. Though it did amuse me to see how my classmates (and a few teachers) would just bend over backwards to please her. To try and see if they could her to smile or hear her laugh- a smile that never reached her eyes and a laugh that was nothing if not hollow.

A disdainful sniff broke me from my musing. I turned my head to glance at the other twin.

Ah. Mitsuko had always been the one to give out veiled insults. What Mikado would say with her mouth, Mitsuko would say with her body language. The simple up turn of her nose or downward twitch of her lips spoke just as loudly as her sister's voice ever could.

"Right," Mikado nodded, clearly understanding what her younger counterpart meant without so much as a sideways glance in her sister's direction. I chalked it up as being a twin thing. "I guess the uncultured really don't know any better."

I merely raised my eyebrows at them.

"Guys stop," chimed in Aiko, her tone one of soft reprimand, "Kame-chu is not uncultured."

"How many times have I told you not to address me as such?" I finally spoke. When I had initially met Aiko, after the blonde had realised that I would not fall for her façade, she's been determined to make my life at Casper DA as difficult as possible.

"But Kame-chu," Aiko whined, jutting out her bottom lip and widening her green coloured eyes, effectively adopting a kicked puppy look.

Mikado and Mitsuko glared at me.

And this was how Aiko Prince aided my classmates' opinions of me get worse and worse. Each time I wouldn't buy her innocent act and each time I would end up being the bad guy.

And no – I was not being paranoid.

Mikado opened her mouth, no doubt to give a scathing remark, when she was interrupted by the bell. As soon as the bell rang our Sensei walked in.

With one last glare, the Tsundere Twins followed Aiko, who had rushed to her desk, which was in the row on the right of the classroom opposite of mine.

"Good morning class," our Sensei spoke after we finally settled down.

I honestly just went through the motions.

Stand. Bow. Reply in turn.

When I finally sat down I sighed. It was after all just another day at Duel Academy.

* * *

My current schedule at Casper DA was pretty simple. Duel Lessons were allotted three hours a day, most of which for me, took the form of single sessions before lunch and double sessions at the end of the day and could either be theoretical, practical or a mixture of both.

Personally, I found the theoretical classes were the most interesting of the three forms. They reminded me of the tutorials I'd taken when I had played my first ever Yu-gi-oh game, only that much more detailed and hands on. Then at the end of the classes we were presented with various scenarios via simulations that we had to solve. These reminded of the numerous duel puzzles that I had been faced with in that same game as well all the other Yu-gi-oh games I played (which weren't that many actually).

Apart from Duel Lessons, I did several other subjects: Japanese, English, Art, Science and Math. Science was the most disappointing one of them all. It was just a compilation of the three major branches- Chemistry, Biology and Physics. We merely went over the basics, skimming the surface of each and never getting too technical. We only did what they thought we could handle.

I'd have to wait until I became an upperclassman to do any of the major branches, which was in three years.

I excelled in most of my subjects (having gone through similar aspects of them in my first life). One of my major hiccups was Japanese. Even in my early childhood education, I'd never caught on as quickly as the other kids.

At first I hadn't thought much of it, but since entering the Duel Academy, it became really annoying. Especially since it helped determine my rank in the class.

Let me elaborate. Your rank was determined by your overall average from the different grades that you obtained in your subjects coupled with your dueling level. Your dueling level itself was determined by:

a) Grades you obtained on your written tests and these were based on what you learnt in theory and practical classes.

b) Whatever grade you're assigned by your teacher from his/her assessment of your dueling skills in practical examinations.

And then after that, you were ranked amongst the entire year group. The higher the rank, the more bragging rights you had and currently coming out as 9th in my class was nothing to brag about. I cringed to think of where I ranked in the entire year group.

Not that I really cared about bragging rights, because really I didn't. What I really cared about was the fact that if I didn't improve my ranking by at least 3 tiers, then I'd be forced to drop my extra subject.

And I needed my Junior Beginners Mechanics class.

I'd need a firm foundation if I was going to make it as a female Turbo Duelist. I knew that despite this being an animated, modernized world, as with the real world, sexism still prevailed in male dominated occupations.

I more or less expected to be on my own most of the time. So knowing how my Runner works and being able to fix it would save me a lot of trouble.

* * *

I usually spent Lunch time on the roof. I always sat on a bench that was just before the railing. I found it peaceful to be able to look over the school- to just watch everything happen.

Casper DA was pretty big and catered to many people. It was almost surreal watching the different groups of students laugh and play, gossip and duel. It seemed to be pure bliss.

They had no idea that they were just an anime. And in that anime most, if not all of them, were merely faces in the crowd. They had no central role, they had no fate deciding purpose.

No one in the real world had knowledge of them. No one in the real world knew their names. No on in the real world cared.

Yet, the persons that surrounded them knew them. They all had friends and family and loved ones- persons whom cared. They were important to someone.[1]

Sitting back and watching from the TV screen was a completely different experience than sitting back and watching from the midst of it all.

Talk about a shift in perspective.

I sighed. _"Talk about confusing."_

"That's a heavy sigh," a soft voice spoke from behind me. I threw back my head to glance at the figure who spoke.

Said person was Yoshi Koizumi, practically my only friend at DA. It was a pity that he and I weren't in the same class.

"Don't worry about it," I declared as I righted myself upwards. My neck had been killing me.

I turned my attention to the people below me as Yoshi took his regular spot beside me. I soon felt the pressure in my lap increase as something was placed there. I looked down to see a homemade bento.

My nose twitched as I frowned slightly. "How many times have I told you to stop going through the trouble of making me lunch?"

I turned my gaze to the boy on my right, who had a bento of his own and was about to start eating it. He was ignoring me.

I had never thought that Yoshi was the stubborn type. He just seemed so girly. He was lanky, looking like he was 13 or 14 when he was actually 10. He got teased a lot because he was shy and soft spoken, though I'm sure the shoulder length _magenta_ coloured hair (I swear it's only in anime that such a hair colour could be natural) didn't help either.

I had met Yoshi when I was on my way to lunch one day. He was being corned by a group of boys I didn't know, but I recognized that they were a part of our year group. I don't remember what they were speaking about but what I do remember was Yoshi cowering, too scared to see that they weren't even within three feet of him. They were in fact intimidated by his height, not that Yoshi noticed.

I had planned to walk away, turn a blind eye, after all it hadn't been my problem. But it was as if my feet had a mind of their own, when instead of moving in the opposite direction of the scene, I somehow ended up between Yoshi and the group of guys.

I had made it my problem.

Long story short, seeing as I couldn't fight my way out of a paper bag, I had defended Yoshi the only way I knew how- with snide comments for each taunt they sent my way and the fiercest glare I could muster.

I'm not sure how long the confrontation lasted but in the end they backed off and I was thankful, the last thing I needed was for the verbal battle to escalate into a physical one. Five against two (if I could even count Yoshi) were not good odds, plus remember what I said about the paper bag, so yeah.

When all that had been over I shifted my gaze towards Yoshi, only to have him flinch away. I had sighed and ran a hand through my hair, inwardly debating my next move. I had wondered if I should talk to him or just leave him where he stood.

I had decided on the latter.

After all I didn't want to interfere in his life any more than I already had. Who knows what impact it could have on the Y5D's world? My very birth and purpose was already a major alteration. I was gonna _cause_ major alterations.

I couldn't afford to change it any more than I already had. Not yet at least.

Besides the fact that most of the students here were stuck up jerks (and I admit that this was probably an unfair generalization), the other reason why I kept to myself was to ensure that nothing too diverse happened to the future that I only had a scarce remembrance of.

As I turned to walk away, a hand on my shoulder stopped my departure. I snapped my gaze back to Yoshi who hastily retracted his hand.

"Um," he began twiddling with his thumbs and gazing determinedly down. "T-thank you for what you did," he blurted out with a bow.

I had merely nodded though somewhat awkwardly (I'd never had someone bow to me in thanks before) and started to leave once again.

"Wait!" I had paused again but didn't turn around. Yoshi hummed nervously, "D-do you want to have lunch t-together?"

"No," I had replied after a moment of silence, "It'd best if you just stayed away from me."

With that I had walked away, ignoring the guilty feeling in the pit of my stomach at the crushed look on his face.

But things between me and Yoshi were far from over, because for the next few days, a certain magenta haired boy would find his way on the roof with me at lunch time. I had ignored him at first, but…like I said, he was the stubborn type, surprisingly.

"You shouldn't skip out on your meals," Yoshi's voice jolted me from my reverie. I glanced down at the bento in my lap. It was almost finished. I hadn't even realized that I had begun eating it during my recollection.

I shrugged, both at that fact and at Yoshi's statement. I resumed eating with my chopsticks (I hated eating with them, spoons and forks and knives were so much easier).

"Lunch, especially is important."

I turned my head to find magenta shaded irises staring at me sternly from behind tall bangs and the corners of thin lips down-turned, telling me clearly that he disapproved of my eating habits (or lack thereof).

I snorted. He was such a mother hen.

"Whatever," I declared just as the school bell rung.

* * *

The final bell rang signalling the end of the school day. I got up and stretched, happy that the last bout of Duel Lessons was finally over. The final class for the day had been all theory, and though the duel puzzles at the end of it all were simple enough, it had still been two hours.

I shuffled out of the classroom and headed out of the school. I planned on heading straight home. Days on which I was actually able to do this were rare.

My weekly schedule was packed. I never signed up for such a stressful second life.

But all this preparation was necessary. In my hands would be the persons who had the fate of this world riding on their shoulders. So by relation the fate of this world was on my shoulders as well.

Even though I didn't understand the full capacity of my fate (destiny?), the question still remained. It played in my head over and over. It was as unremitting as the mark on my hand.

The question was –

Could I carry the weight?

* * *

Word Count: 2905

* * *

Notes:

[1] From a viewer's perspective he/she only focuses on the main characters. But to think about it from inside the anime- there are so very many people around- these persons don't see themselves as insignificant, nor do the main characters- they treat everyone the same.

* * *

A/N: I'm using this story to sort of explore and explain the dynamics of the Y5D's world - like with the Duel Academy. So many of my chapters will have these sort of details. I find it pretty fun to do, there's a lot that isn't explained (and only implied) in the Anime, so there's a lot to say/write.

Please don't worry about the OC's too much.

Thank you for those who reviewed/viewed/followed/favourited this story. I really appreciate it.

Constructive criticism/comments/suggestions/queries are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

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	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh!5D's

Chapter 4- Let's Get Into Gear!

 _-Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential. - Winston Churchill_

* * *

You know what's really satisfying – having all your hard work rewarded. You know what's really stressful – the hard work itself.

I stood on the balcony of the complex's top floor, my apartment was at the end of the hallway. It was a Sunday, one of the few days I had to myself.

I breathed in. The air was cool and the sky looked as if it had been painted with nothing but pink, yellow and orange.

Looking out on the city in the early morning was the best. It was as if everything, including the buildings themselves were asleep. It was definitely a change from the noisy, people filled and constant fast-pace motion associated with the city every day.

I eased off the railing and stretched.

The scenery was indeed beautiful. It was too bad it couldn't do me much good. I'd never get anything done by just staring at the city. Unfortunately.

It was finally that time once again. Casper DA's [1]bi-monthly assessment period was about to begin and I needed all the help I could get. This was my last chance to improve my ranking or I'd have to drop my Mechanics class.

And truth be told I wasn't doing so hot in that department either. Though I was steadily improving, I still had a lot to learn.

But luckily I had help.

* * *

When I left my apartment complex, I took the same route as I would if I was heading to the park, and technically I was. That is, I was going to a place that was across from the park.

After a 20 minute or so stroll, I stood in front of Dream Mechanics Inc. (a.k.a. D.M.I.). It was a fairly large building, painted in a deep red colour, while the name of the company was at the top centre in bold golden script. The garage/workshop taking up most of the space, while the smaller section housed the supply store.

I paused at the entrance of the garage. The whirring and humming of tools and vehicles alike permitted the air. The garage had this oily, earthy smell to it, but those were only the dominant ones. At first, the contrasts in smell that resulted from the different activities taking place- car tune-ups and upgrades, runner maintenance, spray jobs- irritated me. But over the last couple of weeks, I got used to it.

I inhaled deeply. Actually I had come to almost relish the smell (I had no idea how this was affecting my lungs though).

One of the workers close to the entrance, who had been in the process of spray-painting a slender car (it looked like the latest model too) a cool shade of blue, looked up and spotted me. Adorned in the required D.M.I. overalls (a deep blue, with gold linings around the cuffs and collar), he paused in his work to wave at me.

He was just one of those normal guys, short black hair and black irises that were shielded behind clear goggles. I couldn't tell what the rest of his face looked like, seeing as he had one of those breathing masks covering his lower face.

Hmm, I should probably get one of those.

Either way, what I could see was that he was smiling at me from behind it, if the crinkling of the corners of his eyes were any indication. I honestly did not know his name, but I was pretty sure he knew mine. Most of the workers knew my name.

"Oi, the Squirt's here!" he announced to the rest of the garage. I gave him a small smile- well at least I think he knows my name. Though the sound was muffled by the mask, it had had its intended effect.

Various greetings of 'Squirt' rang throughout the garage.

…On second thought, maybe none of them actually knew my real name. I smiled and waved at all of them as I trotted to the back of the garage, side stepping and ducking under various tools and heavy equipment along the path.

The occasional reminders of caution followed behind me. I nodded my head out of habit, having gotten used to hearing them multiple times on previous visits.

I soon got to a door marked 'Head Mechanic'. I knocked twice and entered without waiting for a response. My eyes focused on the desk in the very middle of the fairly sized office.

Slightly annoyed grunts escaped the figure behind the desk, who was hunched over some sort of file, reading and scribbling every now and then.

The figure was a man who was 40 something (he never did want to tell me his actual age). His brown hair was greying, those of his head and of his beard. He wore the same deep blue overalls as the other mechanics did, the only difference being the patch of script on the clothing that covered his right breast that had the same marking as on the door I entered through.

Small, multiple blotches of oil littered his overalls, but despite that fact his hands and face were pretty much clean. But either way, oily or not, clean or not, to see such a thickly muscled man behind a desk littered with paperwork, obviously frustrated by its hydra-like tendency, amused me. He seemed so out of place.

"Don't ya have something better to do than to stand there and giggle at me… _Squirt_?" he grunted.

And I expected nothing less from the very man who had given me the affectionate epithet in the first place. I didn't mind the name at all (well at least after I got over the fact that it wasn't going away).

How could I mind when it had been given to me by Michelangelo (who preferred to be called 'Mike' because 'Michelangelo' sounded too 'frilly' for a mechanic), whom had actually rescued me?

That's right, the first time I had met the old man was when he saved me from being kidnapped. The whole kidnapping thing's really embarrassing and so I won't go into it, but the bottom line is- I respected the old man and I owed him a lot.

"How many times do I got ta tell ya to not wear shorts in the garage?" he spoke gruffly, using the pen in his left hand to point down at the offensive article.

I glanced down at myself. I was wearing khaki coloured knee length pants, along with a black T-shirt and sneakers.

I scratched the back of my head sheepishly. Though the workers at D.M.I. were all exceptionally skilled, it was still pretty dangerous for a 10 year old kid to be walking around their work station, even more so for one that wasn't properly attired.

Brown irises narrowing admonishingly, and the frown on his aged face showed that the old man was not impressed.

"Well hurry on and git," he dismissed me, going back to the file in front of him, "The Kid's waiting for ya in the store."

I bowed hastily before scrabbling for the door to far right of the room, lest the old man give into his sadistic tendencies and let me help him do _paperwork_.

In my haste, I tripped over my own legs and ended up sprawled on the floor of the next room, the door slamming behind me. A muffled snort reached my ears.

"Sadistic old man," I mumbled as I rubbed my chin. I think I bruised it.

"Very true," a smooth voice mused. I was halfway up from the ground when a pair of hands clasped my upper arms and pulled me to my feet.

Grey eyes stared at me amused. "But you are a bit clumsy."

I blushed in mortification.

* * *

"And that's why you have to use this kanji in such a situation. Understand?"

I nodded as I scribbled notes in a notebook. I was truly grateful to the person before me. Aforementioned 'Kid' was actually the old man's son. He was also my tutor.

"Yes, Yuuto-sensei."

I had met him a few days after I had met the old man. Ever since the 'Event' I had taken it upon myself to visit DMI most every day. The weird thing was that it was right across from the park and I had never noticed it until _that_ day.

I paused in my note taking to peer at the man before me. He was hunched over a text and making notes of his own. My lip twitched into a small smile, recalling a certain old man in a similar position earlier.

The two were more alike in mannerisms than they thought. However they couldn't be more dissimilar in appearances. The only thing they both had going for them was the brown hair, though Yuuto's fell past his shoulders.

Yuuto, 'Sensei' out loud, had androgynous features and he insisted that he took after his mother. Regardless of who he took after Yuuto had a very pretty face.

A hand coming down on my head to gently ruffle my hair startled me out of my thoughts. Luckily I didn't fall from the stool on which I sat. I was a little ways above the ground, considering the fact that I was unable to see over the counter I was in front of.

"Sky-chan," My cheeks warmed. That pet name was better than any other name I've been called. "Are you paying attention?"

I nodded my head rapidly. Faster than necessary.

I mentally berated myself. I could never seem to act my age in front of Yuuto. I mean I was 27 (mentally) and he was 25[2], I should be able to carry out an intelligent conversation without any child-like oddities added to the mix.

Yuuto smiled an indulgent kind of smile and returned to making notes. So fortunately he didn't see that I had blanched at his smile. I was no more than a child to him but I wasn't. I knew I wasn't. I was an adult. It was so frustrating to be treated like a _child_ , to be grouped with _children,_ to have to deal with _children_ as if we were on the same level.

The grip on my pencil tightened. I took a deep calming breath and tried to distract myself by taking in my surroundings.

D.M.I.'s card shop doubled as a parts shop as well. So in addition to the decks upon decks that lined the walls on one side of the shop, the other side had various parts for Runners and other vehicles as well.

Yuuto helped out at D.M.I., preferring to work with cards and parts than with the actual vehicles themselves. A bit strange for the son of a mechanic maybe. But to each his own.

 **Buzzzz!**

I swung around on my stool to see who had entered the shop. I groaned when I realized who it was.

"Ah, it's good to see you again Yukio-kun," Yuuto greeted.

I snorted, voicing that I thought otherwise. Blue irises levelled me with a glare. A mess of spiky blonde hair swayed back and forth as a twelve year old boy made his way to the counter.

With a nod of acknowledgement in Yuuto's direction, the boy stopped at the counter only to lean over to gaze at my books.

"Fukui," I ground out because not only was he sticking his nose in my books, he was invading my personal space as well.

"Slow as ever I see Kame-chan," he smirked mockingly.

My cheeks flushed. "Whatever brat," I muttered angrily as I hastily pushed my books away from him.

He stuck his tongue out and pulled on his ears for good measure. "You're the only brat I see."

I glared at him. If there was one person I couldn't stand, apart from the Trouble Trio, it was Yukio Fukui.

"What can I do for you Yukio-kun?" Yuuto chuckled out. How he found my annoyance at the brat amusing was beyond me.

"Do you have the latest Fiend Pack?"

"It arrived just yesterday," Yuuto spoke as he ducked behind the glass counter. I could see him reach for a duel pack at the far right of the first shelf.

"But Yukio-kun, I'm sure your school would have the pack just as well wouldn't it?" Yuuto queried.

And he was right. Casper DA, as with all the Duel Academies, had card shops of their very own on campus. It was convenient location wise and cheaper for students and teachers alike when purchasing duel cards and other like materials.

"I know why you're here. You really do go out of your way to annoy me," I muttered as I rolled my eyes. I had come up with that theory a few months into meeting him. I always knew he had it out for me.

"Don't think so highly of yourself Kame-chan," he announced as he paid for and collected the card pack.

He turned to me and stared at me in a mock condescending manner.

"We're supposed to be rivals right? You said so yourself." He smirked, "I have to check up on you every now and then don't I?"

He reached over and patted my head.

"But it seems as if I have nothing to worry about at the moment. I mean, theoretically you're good, but you suck at duelling." I scowled at him.

He continued in a flippant manner. "What's the point of all this tutoring if you don't find a way to apply what you learnt practically?"

I swatted his hand off of my head, but frowned thoughtfully nonetheless. Though I hated to admit it, he was right. I have always thrown myself head-first into theory, but I didn't have that much dedication practical wise. That was where I always fell short.

"Snapping turtles," I heard Yukio mutter to himself.

I bit my bottom lip to contain a frustrated growl, but I was honestly more frustrated at myself more than anything else he had said.

"Well later Yuuto-san, Kame-chan," Yukio said as he made his way towards the front door.

"Wait!" I called jumping from the stool and to my feet.

Yukio was right, I definitely needed more practice. And there was no time like the present I suppose.

There was definitely a chance that he was goading me. Despite that fact though, there was also something inside of me stirring me on.

I took a deep breath.

"Duel me."

* * *

Word Count: 2438

* * *

Notes:

[1] The way I see it the first three years of DA is to weed out stragglers. So only serious persons go on to become seniors.

[2] Skylar seeks to relate to a young adult like her.

* * *

Name Dictionary

Skylar- shelter and protection

Kameyo- tortoise (symbol of long life)

Yukio- gets what he wants

Fukui- fortunate

Yuuto- gentle person (rough translation)

* * *

A/N: I admit that the canon won't start for a while. I'm still trying my hand at characterization with Skylar and certain things need to be established before I can move on. So to that guest reviewer who asked as it regards to when Leo/Lua/Rua (and of course Luna/Luca/Ruka) will show up, it'll take a while (but it won't be an exceedingly long wait).

Please don't worry about the OC's too much.

Thank you for those who viewed/followed/favourited this story.

Constructive criticism/comments/suggestions/queries are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

U.P.: Sign Out


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh!5D's

Chapter 5- On Course

 _-Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment-_ Ralph Waldo Emerson

* * *

 ** _Lub-dub, Lub-dub, Lub-dub._**

There was no explanation for the pounding against my ears. Except the fact that I was nervous.

And I felt it was justified.

I have dueled for a grand total of seven times and all those times were at school. Three out of those seven times, I lost to Aiko (it grates my nerves that she's actually at the top of the class). Two other times, it was against a simulation. I had won the final two times when it mattered, when I was being graded.

I exhaled as I prepared my deck, my duel disk already fixed unto my left arm. It was merely a standard issue academy duel disk, just as the one other students received upon acceptance into the academy. It was up to the students or the parents to decide whether or not to get their own disk after that.

My eyes drifted to my opponent, who was directly opposite to me. Yuuto stood to one side, leaning against the wall. He had brought us to the recreational room of DMI. As the name suggested this was where the workers came when they had their break. They could either watch TV, work out or, thanks to the huge duel field at the far right of the room, duel each other[1].

The room housed the latest in duel simulation technology. I guess that being one of the top mechanic companies in Casper City had its perks.

"Ready Kame-chan~?" Fukui yelled, waving exaggeratedly from his position on the opposite to me.

I had won the toss up, which meant that I was going first. My eyes gazed over the five cards I already had in my hand, before finally landing on my deck. I placed my pointer and index fingers on the very first card.

In those few moments time slowed down. In fact it moved too slowly. I could hear myself breathe and that pounding sound was back.

It annoyed me.

Shaking my head, I swiftly drew my first card. The sooner this duel was over, the better.

* * *

Time Skip\- After Duel

If only the outcome of the duel was more desirable.

I sighed. I lost.

"You lost," Fukui echoed my thoughts as he walked up to me. I glared at him a bit as I deactivated my disk. He didn't have to rub it in.

The sound of clapping brought my gaze over to Yuuto. He stopped in front of us. It was kind of unfair how far-back I had to crane my neck to stare at his face. My only comfort was that Yuuto was on the lanky side.

"That was a good duel," he praised. Looking directly at Fukui, "Yukio-kun, you cut it a bit close don't ya think?"

"Nah," he said smiling though the light blush that appeared on his face indicated otherwise. "I may have to work on the balance of the cards in my deck," he admitted upon being the target of a raised brow from the 25 year old.

Yuuto nodded approvingly at the self-assessment, before his gaze shifted to me. To my abject horror, I ducked my head embarrassedly, refusing to meet his gaze. I knew there was no shame in losing, especially a graceful loss, but it was another thing to lose in front of someone you…held in such high esteem. I couldn't help but feel a bit disconcerted.

The familiar, almost therapeutic, feel of a hand ruffling my hair cut off my train of thought abruptly. My eyes met brown ones as Yuuto crouched down before me.

"Don't be discouraged by your losses, learn from them so that you improve after each and every duel. There is a lot of merit to what Yukio-kun said[2]. You're really lucky to have such a caring rival."

Ignoring a spluttered squawk of denial from Fukui and my snort of incredulity, Yuuto removed his hand from my hair and winked, "You did well. I'm proud to call you my student."

My heart fluttered as a pleased smile formed on my lips and my face warmed for an entirely different reason than embarrassment.

* * *

"How long am I going to have to see that dopey grin on your face?"

Not even having to walk back home with Fukui could ruin my good mood.

I heard him sigh from his position at my left. "But that's good right?"

My smile dropped and I glanced at him questioningly from the corner of my eye.

Seeing my look he elaborated. "You have someone to believe in you, someone you want to make proud. It's as good a start as any for your Duelist's Resolve."

I paused, allowing Fukui to pass me. As he leisurely went by me, an entirely different image than his own flickered into view. And suddenly, I wasn't staring at a mess of blonde hair accompanied by bright blue eyes. Instead, purple irises and tri-coloured hair is what I saw, even though it was gone in an instant, it had been there.

I blinked owlishly.[3] What had that been? I stared at Fukui curiously, who was now ahead of me. Could Fukui be…?

"Are you coming? You're having dinner with us tonight and Kaa-san won't be happy if you make us late."

I hummed thoughtfully and looked at Fukui as he watched me with a confused expression on his face. I shook my head and strode forward, not pausing when I got to where Fukui had stopped to wait on me.

I must have imagined it. There was no way someone as annoying as Fukui could have so much potential.

* * *

Time Skip\- Two Weeks Later

"Sensei!" I yelled rushing into the card shop. I paused to wince at the sound of metal hitting the floor. A grunted curse followed. I looked up only to smile sheepishly as the Old Man lightly glared at me, some vehicle part at his feet along with a good amount of motor oil.

A chuckle brought my attention towards Yuuto, who was standing behind the counter.

The Old Man turned his glare to his son and pointed in his face, "You're cleaning it up." With that he turned and left through the door to his office. But Yuuto was still chuckling, as if seeing his father inconvenienced was something to laugh about.

 _"_ _I wonder what they were talking about."_

I shrugged before remembering why I had rushed over to the DMI in the first place.

I hurried up to the counter and slapped a piece of paper down on it. I smiled as I watched Yuuto pick up and peruse the paper.

After a brief moment passed before his lips quirked up in a smile. "I thought you needed to place 6th in order to keep your extra class."

I nodded, I had told him such. "The sensei in my Mechanics class said that he'd let me go this time since I was only a tier short."

What the mechanics teacher had actually said to me was more along the lines of- "I think I'll keep you a little longer." I honestly thought that he just didn't want to lose the only girl left in his class.

"I'm on probation though," I finished.

Yuuto nodded before clapping his hands together. "So seventh place, how does Ice-cream sound?"

"Like you could do better." What was I, eight?

"So cheeky, Sky-chan." A hand ruffled my hair. "Let's go show the Old Man."

I grinned up at him, happy that he recognized the progress that I had made and at the fact that I was actually making progress. I had to admit that things were looking up.

* * *

Time Skip\- 3 Years Later

"You gonna be an upperclassman soon right?"

I blinked up at Mike. Once. Twice. Then I nodded, my brain finally processing what he had said. It had been an exhausting day at school, and I had decided to spend my afternoon at the DMI reading manga. I was hanging out in the Old Man's office, what with the card shop being particularly busy, this being the day that new card shipments came in.

I would have offered Yuuto my help, given that the brat hadn't offered his services before I had a chance to. Why he chose random days to follow me to the Mechanics store was something I wasn't going to waste brain power on. I had been tired anyway.

A grunt reminded me that the Old Man was still in the room with me. He had moved from his desk to stand in front of me, where I had been sitting on a large bean bag chair. It was the subtle things the Old Man did that made me know that he cared. I hadn't noticed him move.

I looked up at him, only to see him glancing at me with a considering, almost measuring look in his eyes. After a brief moment he turned and headed to the door that lead to the garage.

"Put some gear on and come help me work on a few D-wheels, Squirt."

I stared at the now closed door in shock. Had that just happened?

 _"_ _Did he just….?"_

"Hurry up!"

I grinned as I scrambled out of the seat, manga forgotten, to do as I was told.

I stand corrected, it was both the subtle and the obvious things that the Old Man did that made me know he cared.

* * *

Time Skip- 2 Years Later

I noticed something. All my friends (Yoshi and I use the word tentatively for Fukui) and mentors (the Old Man and Yuuto) and those whom I associated genially with at school…were guys.

The only females that actually took the time to speak with (on friendly, non-annoying terms, hence the Trouble Trio do not count) were whatever female teachers I had, my Aunt (whom I usually spoke to more than saw) and Mrs. Fukui.

I need time to say- thank Kami for Mrs. Fukui (such a kind landlady). I had already gone through puberty once, so bodily changes were nothing new to me, but it was good to have someone so willing looking out for you in that regards whether it's ones first or fifth go at life.

When the testosterone levels got too much (and in other cases the oestrogen levels), Mrs. Fukui, with her mother hen personality was always there with chocolate, tea and some form of artsy work to be done.

But the bottom line was, I probably needed some more female friends. When I had voiced such a thought to Mrs. Fukui, she had so helpfully advised that I started dressing like a girl, try to engage other in conversations that they found interesting or at the very least be more tolerant of their irrelevant chatter (I dubbed it so) when engaged.

I disregarded the first and second options, those seemed too tiresome. The last one though, I attempted.

So when Aiko Prince decided to find me and prattle about whatever popped up in her head (of course the Tsundere Twins were close behind) I didn't immediately ignore/shoot her down. My more tolerant behaviour continued for at least 2 weeks until Aiko asked if I wanted to get ice-cream with them. I had said yes.

Mikado had outright asked 'What the hell?' and Mitsuko had raised an eyebrow, neither having expected me to agree. Aiko had merely squealed in delight.

And thus a tentative bond formed between the Trouble Trio and me. We definitely weren't friends, but not nearly as fierce as enemies would be.

I settled for a term I'd never thought I'd use-

Frenemies. And that had been enough for me.

* * *

Time Skip- 1 Year Later

"Are you ready?" Yoshi queried handing a helmet to me.

I took a deep breath, squirming a bit in my full body suit. It was nothing spectacular, just a black suit that had all that was necessary when one was to ride a bike. I figured I'd get a better outfit when I, you know, actually passed my driving exam.

Yes, here I am six years after entering the duel academy, about to take my driving exam, at least the practical part of it (Practical always seemed to be a problem for me right?). I had completed and done the written part quite well around three months or so ago. And then after that first time, twice more.

Why hadn't I done the practical on those occasions you may ask? Well, I attempted to, but I froze upon mounting the bike. Why? During my first try at the practical part of my exam, I remembered that one thought that I had tried desperately to get rid of upon prepping for my runner exam.

A bike had been what ended my life the first time round.

How, after years of studying and months prepping to ride a runner, I had managed to freeze up was beyond me. It served me right though, instead of pushing such thoughts to the back of my mind, I should have done something different- gotten a therapist.

I couldn't bring myself to even rev the bike's engine. I could only clench onto the brakes as if my life depended on it. In another dimension, my life _had_ depended on it but that biker didn't exactly pull through for me.

I just couldn't do it, what if I died _again_? I don't quite remember it, but I'm pretty sure that me dying the first time hurt. I didn't want to die again.

Guess who was the laughing stock of Casper Academy then?

I had felt humiliated, and that was only after my _first_ fail.

But fourth times the charm right? Either way, this was my last chance before Graduation. It was now or never.

I secured the helmet over my head. I stared at Yoshi, who gave a thumbs up in turn. I smiled faintly, I had this.

* * *

In the grand scheme of things, I suppose that I more or less didn't have to become a licenced rider. But it was the same thing with my art, it was something that I wanted to do. I guess it had more to do with proving to myself that I could do it than anything else.

And I had done it. Finally, after numerous training sessions, countless simulations, faces full of asphalt and cuts, body filled with bruises, a few walks of shame and three official tries at it, I was finally a licenced turbo duelist.

I was finally on course.

* * *

Word Count: 2478

* * *

Notes

[1]It's interesting how so many aspects of persons' lives involve dueling in one way or the other.

[2] What Yukio said In Duel

[3] Duelist's Resolve sounds a lot like –'Believe in the Heart of the Cards'. If it was Naruto then Fukui would be a Carrier of the Flame/Fire of Will, since it Yu-gi-oh, he's a Believer in the Heart of the Cards.

* * *

A/N: So there were a lot of time skips in this one. I decided against posting the duel between Skylar and Fukui. Maybe I'll do that at a later date. And Skylar will finally set out to New Domino City in the next chapter. The time-line will become a little more clearer then.

Thank you for those who viewed/followed/favourited this story.

Please review and let me know what you think. Constructive criticism/comments/suggestions/queries are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

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	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh!5D's

Chapter 6- Going Forward

 _-None of us knows what the next change is going to be, what unexpected opportunity is just around the corner, waiting a few months, or a few years to change all the tenor of our lives._ -Kathleen Norris.

* * *

Graduation was actually pretty big for me. I hadn't gotten to graduate in my first life and so it felt like a milestone for me. I didn't die before I graduated this time.

I felt so proud.

Everyone was there. Mike, Yuuto, Mrs. Fukui and even Yukio (who had graduated the previous year and now worked at D.M.I.). And my Aunt, she was there too.

What had not been so great though, was the fact that I had to graduate in my school uniform, the girls' uniform. The principal of Casper DA was having none of it from me (Though I had to admit I got away with quite a bit- school field trips, class pictures- all in the boys' uniform), so I tried to be as gracious about it as I could. I had a cap and gown on over it anyway.

There had been another not so great at Graduation as well. Namely one Rex Goodwin as our guest speaker. I almost fell off of my seat when he was introduced and called up. And hadn't that been a bummer- my first cannon character sighting had been of Rex Goodwin.

And wasn't that like a bucket of ice water to the face. Suddenly I wanted time to stop and these Halcyon days seemed all the more sweet. Rex Goodwin was the dose of reality (as alternate as it was) that I had been awarded. He was a reminder of what was to come.

I ducked my head as he made his speech. If I hadn't known what I had known he would have drawn me in with his carefully spoken, honey-coated words. I clutched my right arm almost subconsciously and I prayed that he didn't know about me or my mark. I had done well to keep it hidden.

He wouldn't know right? How had he pin-pointed signers again? I lamented at the fact that details like that escaped me. Who knows what else I've forgotten?

My fellow graduates bursting into applause brought me back to the present. Had his speech been short or had I been spaced out that long?

Either way it didn't matter- I joined my classmates in applauding-

As long as he left as soon as he could.

* * *

After the ceremony had been something. It was a whirlwind of laughter, tears, hugs, thanks-giving and of course gift-giving.

Friends to friends, friends to friend's parent, friend's parent to friends and friend's parents to friend's parents.

Sappy, slightly confusing, but enough to make me smile and relish it all.

After I was greeted and hugged by my company, I wandered off to find Yoshi, who was probably by now a stuttering, blushing mess what with all the praise he was being bestowed by his parents and classmates.

Yoshi had become somewhat popular within the last two or so years, especially with the lowerclassman. And then there was Yoshi's parents.

They were loaded, though not stinkin' filthy rich mind you. His parents acted like stiff-necks the couple of times I was in their presence, but they seemed to genuinely care for their son.

Anyway, I found Yoshi who had been trying to find me. He had taken one look at me, magenta eyes serious as he walked up to me in long resolute strides. I paused and watched him walk towards me. When we had first met, the air of confidence that he now exuded as if it were second nature never existed. He had grown into himself so to speak. He was still tall, but only slightly taller than boys his age. He hadn't cut his hair and had taken to wearing it into a low ponytail, his bang now only covered one eye.

Strong arms pulled me into a firm hold as Yoshi executed his plan. I returned the hug. I would miss him.

"I'm only a phone call away," he murmured, his back hunched as he rested his chin on my shoulder (not everyone could be gifted with height it seemed).

Did I mention what Yoshi gave me as a congratulatory/graduation gift? A brand new phone, the latest model in fact…that would be out in eight months' time.

I had given him a portrait sized painting of the two of us and half of a yin-yang necklace. Chinese it may be, but Yoshi had definitely been the Yang to my Yin.

I'd miss him though, over six years of friendship was nothing to scoff at. But we both had our own paths to walk. I was envious of Yoshi, knowing that he could make his own path while mine had been laid out from the very beginning. My path wasn't a matter of ifs, just a matter of time.

Yoshi was leaving Casper City…but so was I.

I was leaving for New Domino City in three weeks.

* * *

The last few weeks I had in Casper City were spent between packing and time at the D.M.I. Would you believe me if I told you that an entire garage of manly mechanics got all teary-eyed when I told them I was leaving? Well 'teary-eyed' may be a bit much, but I know I heard some sniffles here or there.

Mrs. Fukui helped me pack, though I use the word 'help' loosely. Now _she_ was the one that got all teary-eyed on me. Everything that she went to pack, she seemed to have some memory of it and didn't hesitate to share. These stories usually ended along the lines of 'I can't believe you're so big already.', 'You were so adorable at that age', and my personal favourite, 'Kio-kun's going to miss you, you're like a sister to him.'

She meant well though.

At the D.M.I. I hung around Yuuto (and by extension Fukui) as much as I could. Yuuto hadn't changed much over the past six years, he looked pretty much the same. Apparently Yuuto was one of those age-gracefully types. Fukui was less annoying, but he was still annoying. Especially with the way he was always rubbing the bit of fuzz on his chin. If I painted him green, he'd look like a cactus.

When I wasn't hanging out with those two, I was being worked to the bone by the Old Man. He had been up to…something (I hadn't a clue what that was) and I had to pick up his slack. That's right- he had me sorting through and filing _paperwork._

Which was something I rarely had to do. Whenever he asked me to do something, it was always in the shop- that mainly included us working on some broken part or another. I learnt quite a bit from the Old Man, not enough to build a car or runner from scratch, but enough to diagnose whatever problem a vehicle had and fix it. Mechanics class helped too. I wasn't an expert like Yusei or Bruno, but I could probably keep up with them…on a good day.

And that was something.

* * *

It hadn't taken a lot for me to convince my Aunt to let me go to New Domino City. In fact, she had told me that she did the same thing when she was my age- in regards to leaving her home town. With one exception- I had asked permission.

That's right, my Aunt had been a runaway. I had been surprised, but not overly so. My Aunt had never been one to stay in one place for too long. She was one of those nomad business types.

I left Casper City on a ship. A plane would have been faster, but I wasn't in a hurry either way. I wore knee length cameo pants and a long sleeved cameo shirt, black combat boots and a black soldier beret. Mrs. Fukui had given the outfit to me on the advice of the brat (and no the irony was not lost on me). I couldn't not where it.

The brat then had the audacity to salute me, as I boarded the ship. The sun was high in the sky when the ship left and I had waved goodbye to the handful of persons that mattered.

I stood by the railing of the ship. I could have possibly been standing there for an hour, maybe a few minutes, but I hadn't looked away until Casper City was completely out of sight. Because once I turned around I wouldn't be looking back.

I couldn't look back.

So when I could no longer see the tips of the skyscrapers in Casper City, I drew in a deep breath and spun around. I looked in front of me.

After all, my only choice was to go forward.

* * *

Time Skip\- Three Months Later

My life in New Domino City was…quieter.

I didn't have Mrs. Fukui to knock on my door to remind me to be ready on time. I didn't have Yuki to annoy me as we both left in the mornings, he for work and I for school. Heck, I didn't even have school anymore, nor the persons I had met within it. No Yoshi…or the Trouble Trio.

The Old Man and Yuuto weren't there for me to see in the afternoons either.

Most persons in New Domino seemed to lead at a fast pace day in and day out (and it was no wonder, such a large city needed an efficient human capital if it were to remain as it was) and I felt as if I was going nowhere, again.

I guess the feeling could be partly blamed on the fact that I didn't do much of anything. I had always had what I needed- handed to me by my Aunt without a second thought.

I had had an apartment waiting for me in New Domino City. I knew a lot of persons didn't have such fortune. The bottom line was I had never worked for money a day in my life (helping out at D.M.I. had never counted- I didn't get paid anyway).

I needed a job.

However the question was- 'Who would hire a seventeen year old girl with absolutely no formal work experience who was only good at art?'

I could always duel in small circuits, but I wanted to stay away from the dueling scene, not wanting to change or affect things before I needed to. In addition to that, I didn't need Rex Goodwin on my case. I had to be careful, this was sort of _his_ city anyway. And the last thing I wanted was to end up as a stepping stone for Goodwin's new rising star duelist.

Three guesses who?

Anyway, my job hunt thus far had yielded no fruit. And just as most afternoons, I found myself in a park in New Domino City (I seemed to have developed an affinity for both parks and nature in general).

You'd think I'd learn that parks in this world weren't as peaceful as they should have been.

Why, you may ask, have I said such?

"Leave us alone, you jerks!"

There's your answer.

I gave up hope of having a quiet, normal stroll through the park the moment I happened upon what appeared to be a kidnapping.

It was honestly like Déjà vu.

I bit my lip and shuffled awkwardly from one foot to the next, switching my sketchpad into my right arm. Now I had to decide what to do. Do I turn a blind eye to the hoodied children being corralled by two men in black suits? Or do I help them?

"We don't wanna go with you!" that was the same voice I had heard shout the first time. It was a little boy. Said little boy stood defensively in front of the second child, who appeared to want make himself/herself as small as possible.

…Darn, I couldn't not do anything. And every other person in the park was conveniently out of ear shot. (I hated how Anime was at times because I couldn't help but feel as if this was some kind of cosmic set-up.)

Seeing one of the men reach for the boy, stirred me into action.

"Hey!" I yelled running up to them.

Both men spun around and without giving them a chance to respond, I threw my sketch pad at them, the pages flying out as I did.

I grimaced (Those were some of my latest sketches), ignoring the surprised spluttering as the pages filled their field of vision. I ran straight past them, grabbing onto the kids' hands.

They didn't seem averse to following me, that or they too were still surprised. I didn't really care though. My only thought was to not get caught by the Wannabe Men in Black.

* * *

Ten minutes, three bushes, a recycle bin and a tree were what it took to lose the WMIB duo. Five minutes after that I found myself in an ice-cream parlour.

"Thanks so much Nii-san!" the boy exclaimed as he began to wolf down the ice-cream I had placed in front of him.

My eye twitched because just moments ago the brat had been glaring at me suspiciously. Was he so easily won over? And I didn't know what he was thanking me for either, saving him and his sibling or was it the Cookie and Cream flavoured ice-cream?

His companion, who had been doing his/her best to hide his/her face from my view, nodded and mumbled a quiet 'Thank you' as well before eating at a more sedate pace than his/her brother.

"Don't you know better than to take ice-cream from strangers?" I couldn't help but say. What sort of parents would yield such reckless kids?

Dual, dull amber coloured eyes stared up at me, as if assessing me. Took them long enough.

"Just because I saved you," I began as I idly scooped some ice-cream in my mouth, "And bought you ice-cream, isn't enough reason to trust me."

Even in this world, one couldn't be too naïve. It had shook me when I had almost been kidnapped. Viewers weren't shown crimes as serious as kidnapping (among other things) quite as often as I had seen it (them) happened.

The boy turned to his sibling, who had leaned over to whisper to him.

I was shocked when the boy grinned at me. "But you're a good Nii-san!"

He was definitely a loud one.

"Luca said so!"

 _Wait, what?_

The boy sat back in his seat and took his hoody, his sibling mimicking his movements. I stared blankly at the blue-green haired boy and girl.

…I had been right, it was a cosmic set-up.

* * *

Word Count: 2428

A/N: And we are finally in New Domino City. It's honestly been fun writing about various details in the Y5D's world.

Thank you to 'Zyma-nee-22' for reviewing.

Thanks to those who viewed/favourited/followed.

Constructive criticism/comments/questions/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Please review and let me know what you think guys.

Thanks for reading.

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	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh!5D's

Chapter 7- An Inch

 _-It doesn't matter how slow you go as long as you do not stop-_ Confucius

* * *

Children were smarter than people gave them credit for and as a result persons were often caught unawares by them. I knew better than to underestimate persons, especially children.

Thus, it begged to question that if I knew better- Why was I here?

'Here' being the mall, where the twins and I were currently window shopping. I had wanted to take them home, after having the ice-cream, but they had refused to tell me where they lived. Instead they managed to get me to accompany them to the mall.

How you may ask?

Like I said earlier children were smarter than people gave them credit for, they knew how to get what they wanted.

Luna/Luca (and here I had thought that she was an all rounded angel- she had a bit of her brother in her), she had that natural kicked kitten look that made you think twice about denying her request before even uttering said denial. Leo/Lua however, smiled in the face of rejection, and then proceeded to state the benefits of his idea (and that got annoying real fast).

* * *

It turns out that the WMIB duo, were actually the Twin's bodyguards. Leo and Luna…or rather Lua and Luca (I was sooo over the whole Japanese thing) didn't like them very much. Luna-er-Luca thought that they were scary and that was reason enough for Lua to dislike them.

They reacted, or rather Lua, reacted the way any nine year old would react, by throwing a tantrum. Had I misinterpreted that situation or what?

Would you believe that I got ah, accosted by Sector Security in the ice-cream shop? There were no handcuffs mind you, but the three of us were escorted outside, guided into a car and brought to the Sector Security building. Just outside the building were the WMIB duo.

So the fact of the matter was that _I_ was the one who played the role of kidnapper, as unintentional as it was.

I half expected to be brought into the building for questioning, but the Sector Security guard released us into the WMIB duo's custody.

Yes. _Us._

The twins, ever since leaving the shop, had taken to clutching at my clothing as if their lives depended on it. Luca buried her face in my side and Lua glared at the guards. They were throwing a tantrum again.

"We don't wanna go with you!" Lua boldly declared and I resisted the urge to squirm uncomfortably. The WMIB duo had taken to staring at me and there was just something unnerving about the way the sunlight reflected off of their glasses.

"Tell mom and dad that we want to stay with this Nii-san!"

 _Excuse me?_

Suddenly it all made sense. The twins weren't just throwing tantrums, they were acting out. They were trying to get their parents' attention and I was as convenient of an instrument as ever.

I felt slightly used.

The glances that the WMIB gave me turned from intimidating to accusatory. Now I felt slightly offended.

"I'm not some kind of paedophile who preys on children," I spoke up.

Raised eyebrows questioned that statement. _'Surely?'_

I huffed. I so didn't need this. I pulled my shirt out of Lua and Luca's grip and gently shoved them in front of me and towards the guards.

"You can have them," I offered. When Lua and Luca looked back at me with betrayed looks, I was having none of it.

"Go home kids." I folded my arms. "It's dangerous acting the way you do in public. People can misunderstand and end up getting in trouble. Like me, like now."

Luca had the decency to look contrite. Lua, he stuck with glaring at me indignantly.

"And you shouldn't just use people to get what you want from your parents. It's not fair to the person. Think. All your actions garner a reaction. Don't cause needless trouble."

With that I turned around and headed down the steps of the SS building. I had lost my sketchbook and I had lost most of the day's light, which meant that I had to continue job hunting on another day, but more importantly, it meant I had to get a new sketchpad.

* * *

He had never in his entire life, thought that he'd be thanking one of his puppet– excuse him– _employee's_ incompetence.

It had been a long day and he still had many more meetings to attend for the day. So excuse him for wanting to arrive to his meetings in comfort.

But his nimrod of a chauffeur hadn't had the car checked before he picked him up, so after 15 minutes of driving, the AC was the first to go (and it had been a hot day too) and then the engine. And to make matters worse, if they waited on a mechanic or another car, he'd be late for the meeting he had with his Boss.

So he had to- _walk_ the rest of the way.

So there he was… _walking_ and even with the umbrella over his head (if he had to walk, the nimrod had to as well and while the nimrod was at it, make himself useful), the heat was still so much that he swore his make-up would start running in no time.

He scowled, resting his head on a gloved palm as he walked, his eyes scanning his environment lazily. He was walking by a park and wasn't that quaint? New Domino City still had those.

 _Pity they don't seem to maintain the area._

He eyed the papers on the ground, that had no doubt flown from somewhere inside of the park, distastefully. He idly kicked one of the papers that had touched one of his boots away from him.

What he saw next, when the paper floated up and turned over, had him gaping. When a strong gust of wind (that of course had decided that now was a good time to start up), began to blow it and the other papers away, that had actually had him running after them.

Presently, he sat on a shaded park bench, the few papers he first saw, in his hands, while the nimrod searched the entire park for additional copies. Painted lips pulled up into a smirk as he ran a hand over his cellular.

"How interesting," he laughed.

How interesting indeed.

* * *

Do you know what's really creepy? Opening up your apartment door only to see stone-faced goons who you more or less outsmarted a few days ago.

As I stared at the WMIB, and they at me, I entertained thoughts of climbing out my window to escape them (I could make it from the third floor…probably) because the whole situation screamed 'Kidnapping'.

But when the two WMIB's stepped aside only for me to see twin heads of green, I relaxed, but just a bit. I gazed at the scene before me quizzically before one of the WMIB cleared his throat.

The twins', who had been shuffling their feet and refused to meet my eyes, shoulders sagged as they bowed.

"We're sorry Nii-san," they voiced.

I blinked owlishly, not sure of what to think of the situation.

They straightened up, Luca began, "We didn't mean to get you in trouble." She then moved to search through a small pink bag that hung over her shoulder. She brought out a sketchpad.

I had gone back to the park in search of it. I only ended up finding a few pages out of it. I took the sketchpad as she handed it to me. I took some time to quickly flick through the pages that were there.

 _"_ _I hope this is all of them…"_

"Thank you for treating us to ice cream," she continued. "We haven't had it in a really long time."

Lua was…chattier than I expected her to be, just as her brother was quieter than I expected him to be. I gazed at said boy, who had his arms crossed and was doing nothing less than pouting at the wall beside my head.

Noticing where my focus was, Lua nudged her brother, who threw a half-hearted glare her way, before finally looking me in the eyes.

"What she said." My lips twitched

 _"_ _Smart alec brat."_

"Well, you brought my sketchpad back, so we're okay," I spoke.

Silence reigned for a while. I had a feeling that both parties had no idea as to how to proceed. Personally, what I wanted to know was how they, um- _found where I lived._

Again I wondered how well off the twins' parents were.

A nervous hum, brought me back to the here and now.

I gazed at Luca who, with the way she fidgeted and lowered her head from my gaze, had seemingly returned to her recluse ways.

"I can't take this anymore!" exclaimed Lua as he shook his head. So the silence had indeed bothered him.

"Do you wanna hang out with us again?"

Huh?

Of all the things for him to say/ask, I wasn't expecting that. I assumed that he sorta hated me, what with the way he was avoiding/glaring at me.

"Uuum…" I gazed at the bodyguards unsure, who shrugged their shoulders.

Ugh. It was like talking to a pair of brick walls.

"Why?"

Lua pointed accusingly at one of the men. "These guys are boring and no fun."

So blunt.

Lua continued. "They don't make us do anything. They don't like talking to us either."

I tilted my head to the side considering…well everything. I had moved to New Domino City because I knew that I couldn't run from my destiny (or was is fate?). At the same time that didn't mean that I wanted to face it head on. You could say that me moving was my own way of throwing destiny/fate a bone, to appease it, even if it was only for a short while. I just never would have guessed that my short while was only a handful of months.

How unfair.

Life was like that though wasn't it? _Any_ life? We can't control the cards that are dealt to us, we can only use them as best as we could.

How did the saying go again- those three words that described life- 'Deal with it'? 'Suck it up'? 'Don't wimp out'?

My eyes flickered from twin to twin, gauging the hopeful looks they shot towards me. Should I placate destiny/fate a bit longer? Could I?

What would happen if I rejected them? If I worked out things well enough then I have at least a year before the Y5D's time-line begins.

How exactly was I supposed to proceed?

I sighed. I hated the amount of loops my thoughts went through before I made a decision. It wasn't often that I got onto a trail I didn't have the map to. It wasn't often that I allowed _persons_ to pull me onto such a trail.

"I'm not a toy that you can just play with whenever it's convenient," I stated matter-of-factly. The twin's shoulders dropped as sighs of disappointment escaped their mouths.

But –

"But I can start as your friend."

Grey-gold irises brightened and happy laughter filled the hallway.

– maybe this time, working without a map wouldn't be so bad. Maybe I could start without the map and move inch by inch.

That made it seem less daunting at least. Without a map, but going at my own pace, a step at a time, inch by inch.

* * *

Word Count: 1906

* * *

 _Omake_ \- Premonition

Lua knew better than to go anywhere with strangers, whether they were helping them to get away from annoying bodyguards or no.

Luca knew better than to go anywhere with strangers too. After all if _he_ knew it, then she definitely knew it, Lua was the smart twin after all (actually Lua couldn't bother with thinking things through all the way. That took up too much time, time that could've been better used _doing_ ).

So Lua had fully intended to pull away from the strange Nii-san, grab his sister and find their own route away from their usual shadows. He had begun to do just that when he looked over to his sister, intent on telling her to hurry up and get loose, only to see her tighten her grip on the Nii-san's hand and begin to run with the Nii-san.

His brows furrowed, before he stopped trying to break free and began to run with the strange Nii-san as well.

After all Luca knew better than to go anywhere with strangers. Which meant that the Nii-san wasn't really a stranger, that Luca knew or at least had seen the Nii-san that they'd never seen in person before today.

And that meant something else entirely.

* * *

A/N: Whew. So _Reborn to be a Duelist_ is now updated on Thursdays. As is _Foreign Catalyst_.

Thanks to those who reviewed/viewed/favourited/followed. Thank you for the continued support.

Constructive criticism/comments/questions/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Please review guys.

Thanks for reading.

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	8. Chapter 8

I do not own Yugioh!5D's

Chapter 8- Encounter

- _It is better to meet danger than to wait for it. He that is on a lee shore, and foresees a hurricane, stands out to sea and encounters a storm to avoid a shipwreck_ \- Charles Caleb Colton

* * *

How old was I again? Mentally that is.

Maybe thirty-something-ish. I've started losing count. I've started to stop keeping count- if that makes any sense. That's saying a lot actually.

I've become caught up with my time in New Domino City.

Have I found a job? Yes.

Was it what I expected? Yes and No.

'No' in that I never thought, that after so many years in school, I'd end up as a live-in Nanny. 'Yes' because I know that some unforeseen being loves to screw with me- of course I ended up staying with the twins.

It was convenient, eerily so, but I didn't want to waste any time or energy on trying to wrap my head around the dynamics of the universe. So yes, I've kinda learnt how to roll with the punches as I got them.

At least there was always something to do, even if it was mainly housework (the second evil of this life- paperwork being the first). But then again, it wasn't as if I did it by myself either way- the twins did their part.

The twin's parents were well off ( _very_ well off) – judging from the location, size and design of the apartment that the twins lived in.

Funnily enough it reminded me of a modern rendition of Rapunzel. Instead of a castle tower, it was a refined apartment overlooking the wide expanse of NDC (the sunrises and sunsets were absolutely beautiful from so high up) right in the middle of a high-class neighbourhood (The Tops).

Instead of a princess longing for an unknown world, locked away by a venal witch, there were a pair of children longing for companionship that could only be offered by someone being there (emotionally and physically).

In the place of the heroic and cultured prince was a cynical cross-dresser.

…Eh, oh well- we all had our roles right? Know you're role- that's the big message I think the universe is trying to drill into my head.

Anyway, housework- as I said the twins did their part i.e. they cleaned their rooms and whatever dishes they could handle. After all what was the sense of cleaning up after them at every moment? What was I to do, follow behind them with cleaning supplies?

I think not. They had to learn responsibility somehow.

Thankfully, both twins (and yes _both_ twins) were relatively neat. Luca, in the words of Lua, was 'too much of a goody-goody to make anyone tell her to clean up after herself' while he, in his own words as well, 'didn't have the energy to do one major cleaning every week'- a little a day makes his weekends free to (of course) duel.

And here I had thought that he didn't have his priorities straight.

With all that said- the twins were never allowed in my room- not because it was super messy and (and that wouldn't be me leading by example). Let me put it this way- the only thing I did in that room was draw and paint (and while I could have had another room for that- there were about two other large, spare rooms in the apartment) and the sofa in the living area was ideal for naps.

I didn't need more than five hours of sleep to function, the twins and I didn't go out very often anyway. It's not insomnia by the way- it's a choice. While the twins were asleep I drew or I prepared a few lesson plans.

I tutored them in English and Math as well as gave them pointers on dueling (which I admittedly didn't do much of in the way of competition or practice. I cringed to think of how rusty my riding skills probably were now). The twins were starting New Domino City Duel Academy in a year or so and it fulfilled part of my job description (I had been right in my assumption that dueling was a major part of the culture of this world).

On the few days that Luca, Lua and I did go out (Luca insisted on having an entire day spent outside of the house every once in a while because Lua was too much of a 'duel-freak' and I was too 'pale') we went to either the park, the movies, the mall (for ice-cream and duel cards), the skating rink, the arcade or to Karaoke (loved it).

The past few months had definitely been filled with a lot of golden moments.

* * *

"Lua, wait up!" Luca yelled after her brother.

"No way, you guys are too slow!" was the reply.

I nestled myself deeper in my jacket as a particularly cold wind blew past me. I scoffed upon hearing Lua's retort- my breath coming out in a cloud of white. "You mean we're less liable to slip on ice and break our necks."

I quickened my pace nonetheless, Lua's pace quickening to match mine, not wanting to lose sight of my excitable charge as we walked through the fairly crowded park.

I didn't like the snow too much. It took my nose absolutely no time to become red from the cold. My ears were probably as red as my nose, though thankfully my hair had grown past my ears, so they were mostly hid from view.

Whenever I go out into the snow, I usually wore ear muffs and I usually wore a scarf to cover my face up to my nose. I currently had neither. All because of Lua, who had been in such a rush to get to the park because 'today was the day'.

The day he had been counting down to for weeks now. The day one Rising Star Duelist named Jack Atlas was making an appearance at Central Park. Guess who was Jack's number 1 super fan?

I had been dreading this day for weeks. Because where Jack was, Goodwin was as well. I wanted to stay away from both, mostly the latter because I believed that he was too perceptive for his (and my) own good.

"Can I just not go?" I mumbled to myself as I slowed to a petulant trudge.

A snowball to the face was the only answer I got.

"W-what?" I spluttered, spitting snow out of my mouth.

"You're going too slow, Nii-san!" Loud laughter followed.

"Lua," I growled out as I sank to the ground to scoop up a handful of snow. Patting the small mass in hands, I threw the projectile in the direction the laughter came from.

I watched as the snowball headed straight for Lua. My lips quirked up at the sound of his shriek, but my smirk fell when Lua dropped to the ground. Predictably there was someone behind him, so when Lua ducked, of course the person got hit with the snowball.

"Oi, what's the deal?" growled aforementioned person as he spun around. Spikey blond hair rustled as the wind blew, pale lips formed a scowl as purple irises narrowed as they landed on me.

"Who do you think you are, hitting Jack Atlas?"

What an ego. Does he go around announcing his name at every opportunity he gets?

"No I don't, but every so often I end up meeting morons like you, who are too stupid to know their place," he spoke as he folded his arms and his glare intensified. I blinked owlishly before I realized that I had probably spoken out loud just before.

"Forgive me for not thinking that you're as important as you think you are," I drawled sarcastically as I rolled my eyes.

* * *

Jack Atlas was not amused, in fact he was annoyed. He was out in the cold promoting the Fortune Cup, which was still a year away (As if anyone could ever dethrone him. Though he supposed it made for good entertainment), and now he was being insulted by a pasty shrimp.

He admittedly couldn't see much of the person, who was either a girl or an effeminate male. A scarf was wrapped around the lower half of the person's face, disappearing into a light brown, mid-thigh aviator jacket (he personally preferred white funnel neck coats much like the one he presently wore). The jeans he/she (and by how thing the person's frame was so thin, Jack was more inclined to think of the person as a girl) wore were mostly covered by the coat and the light brown, knee length winter boots.

But what really caught his attention were the electrifyingly green eyes that contrasted excellently with the jet black hair that frame a pale skinned face.

His nose twitched in annoyance, as the shrimp turned to speak to two small green haired children dressed similarly, twins.

"How wonderful," he drawled sardonically, "You come with a matching set."

Green irises found his purple ones once more, narrowed as if daring him to say something more. He smirked mockingly and opened his mouth to speak.

"Wow, you're Jack Atlas!"

And there went his eardrums. It seemed that one of the mop-headed twins was his fan- a loud one at that.

And a talker, because the kid had yet to stop spouting off his mouth.

"I can't believe that you're actually, really here in front of me in person!" Wild gestures punctuated his sentences. "Your dueling skills are incredible! And you have the coolest catch-phrases like ever. How do you come up with them? And your runner is suuper fast! You're an amazing turbo duelist! Just like Nii-san!"

At the end of his sentence the boy had pointed excitingly towards Green-eyes (and it was a good thing the little kid stopped his annoying prattle, because he was so very close to telling the kid to shut up and bug off) and Jack raised a brow.

He didn't buy it and he made it known.

"There's no way a pasty shrimp like him could make it as a Turbo Duelist," he scoffed. "He doesn't even look like he could out-duel a bunch of Duel Academy Students."

What happened next surprised Jack. After all he'd never seen nor had he knew that border-line hero worship could change to quiet rage so quickly.

The boy had frozen mid jump, his mirror twin pausing as well. The next thing he knew twin grey-gold gazes zeroed in on him, as if wanting to instantly burn through him.

"Hey, don't talk to our Nii-san like that!" The little mop-headed boy yelled, pointing straight in his face.

Jack scowled and was about to retort before he paused, feeling numerous eyes on his person. His eyes briefly scanned around him and he realized that most of the people in the park were watching them. The words came to his mind-

'Bad Publicity'. Personally he didn't care too much- but Goodwin would never let him hear the end of it.

Jack felt his eyebrow twitched. He was definitely not amused.

* * *

I was feeling particularly vindicated. I had noticed people starting to watch us. Lua had been loud and him being loud attracted attention, the fact that he had been talking to Jack Atlas- that kept attention.

It was heart-warming to see Lua and Luca jump to my defense so quickly. It was also funny when Jack's eyebrows began to twitch as I heard the distinct sound of cameras going off.

 _'_ _Serves the jerk right.'_

I knew that Jack too was one of the Chosen- a Signer. But that didn't mean I had to deal with him sooner than I had to. Though I initially had similar thoughts in regards to Luca and Lua, it was hard not to get attached to the little kids. I doubt that'd ever happen between with Atlas and I.

"What seems to be the problem here Jack?" a smooth voice spoke. My back stiffened and I instinctively reached for Lua to pull him back to my side. I carefully blanked my face as I looked past Jack's shoulders to gaze at the approaching figure.

"Nothing Goodwin," Jack huffed as he adjusted his coat. "Just some loud and annoying pests is all."

I barely managed to keep the sneer off of my face.

"You were being mean to our Nii-san for no reason!" My gaze snapped, not towards Lua but towards Luca. I bit my lips.

 _"_ _Snap, of all the times to be brave."_

My stomach dropped as I saw Goodwin's eyes sharply focus on Luca before travelling to Lua and then finally me. I had to force myself to not flinch away from the calculating gleam in his eyes as recognition swam through them.

Goodwin had always been a crafty one, he had always been a step ahead of most everyone. Though I couldn't remember if he was an outright bad guy, I knew that his presence spelt trouble.

After a brief silence, Goodwin spoke up. "Is that so," he began as he exuded an apologetic air as he bowed slightly, "I must apologize on his behalf."

I saw Jack bristle and sneer, but he said nothing. I wondered if it was because he sensed that Goodwin was up to something. Had the two been together long enough for Jack to be able to read Goodwin. How had the two met anyway? How long ago had Jack left the satellite?

It was so tedious to have to work out the time line, but it seemed as if I'd have to do just that, as soon as I got myself and the twins away from Goodwin.

I bit my lip, giving Lua a sharp tug as he leapt up to retort. I didn't even look at him when he gazed at me confusedly.

"Think nothing of it," I spoke up as I shifted in my spot. Goodwin's all-knowing stare made me uneasy. "I'm sure Jack didn't mean any harm. He must just be exhausted and overwhelmed. I assume that it's not easy to be so famous. He may be 'King of the riding duels', but he's still human."

I threw up a bit in my mouth just now.

I bowed hastily to both parties as I forced a smile onto my face. "We'll be leaving now."

With that I turned as naturally and as unhurriedly as I could, the twins' hands within mine, and walked off. Lua and Luca had enough wherewithal to pick up that I was unnerved by Goodwin's presence and didn't comment as we walked away.

I didn't have to see Goodwin to know that he was watching us leave. It didn't take psychic powers for me to realize that he knew who I was. The question I had though –

How?

* * *

Word count: 2425

A/N: As it regards to the twins Japanese names - I know it Rua/Ruka but they were written as Lua/Luca in a few instances. I decided to go with the Lua/Luca spelling.

Thanks to those who reviewed/viewed/favourited/followed. It means a lot.

Constructive criticism/comments/questions/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Please review.

Thanks for reading.

U.P.: Sign Out


	9. Chapter 9

I do not own Yugioh!5D's

Chapter 9- Engine Ignite!

 _-Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end-_ Seneca

* * *

There's a saying that once you learn how to ride a bicycle you'll never forget how. My understanding of it is that even after not riding a bicycle for a long time, when you finally do get a chance to ride a bicycle, it'll be as if you had ridden one just yesterday.

With that said, let it be known that the same saying cannot be applied to motorcycles. Riding a duel runner requires practice, especially if it wasn't your strong suit in the beginning.

I had a number of excuses for not practicing my Turbo dueling. My first was that I was too busy with my new job as a 24-hour babysitter, my other excuse…was that I didn't have a runner of my own. Simulations could only do so much and were nothing compared to actually putting tire to road. Renting a runner was costly (and I never could get the good ones).

A part from those excuses, I was also majorly procrastinating. Nothing good comes from procrastinating.

I have the literal bumps and bruises to prove that statement.

"Wooohooo! Go Nii-san!"

As well as the salt to rub onto those wounds. Having Lua and Luca at the racing rink, both watching me get thrown from my runner was a bit humiliating (though they meant well). But seeing as I no longer had any excuses, I had to practice.

When I said I no longer had any excuses- Lua and Luca had started attending the New Domino City Duel Academy, so my days were mostly free. The runner issue had also been solved.

Guess what I got for my 18th birthday?

My very own runner.

I kid you not.

The old man had built it for me. It was the first of its kind. The old man had done up the design and then built it. I'm not sure how long it took, but he had done it.

I won't get into too many details but it looked incredible.

It was a four wheeled motorcycle that was supposed to handle like a two-wheeler but with added stability and…it looked kind of like a turtle- the frame that is. I'm not sure how the old man had done it, but the emerald and black Gamma 3 frame reminded me of a turtle's shell (I guess the side wings had a bit to do with it too).

The brat (then again with the way how Yukio had grown up, it really wasn't fair of me to call him that anymore) had even nicknamed it the 'Snapping Turtle'. Of course I had a…different name in mind.

I actually felt proud of the fact that I had my own runner, and no amount of side glances or snide remarks from the other riders could change that. The fear that I usually felt when mounting a runner was mostly gone now. I had gotten used to gripping a runner's handle bar, used to revving a runner's engine, of putting rubber to asphalt, of the feeling of achievement I felt whenever I got faster time.

It was cathartic. Though I could do without the chaffing that came with long hours on the duel runner.

With that said, let me just mention that I felt awesome in my runner outfit. It consisted of a simple black and green textile jacket and pants suit, black mesh gloves and black combat boots. The outfit was waterproof, windproof and breathable, had detachable thermal lining, special foam padding at the necessary places, reflective panels etc.

The clothing was comfortable and practical and I could understand why the turbo duelists in Y5D's always wore their riding gear.

"Uh, Nii-san?" a voice piped up near me.

"Hmm?" I answered as I turned in the direction of the voice. I blinked owlishly at Luca and Lua, who were giving me a quizzical stare from their place behind the barrier. When had they even gotten so close to me?

They had been on the other side of the track when last I checked.

Lua spoke up. "Are you okay?"

Luca nodded in concern. "You've been staring into space for the past few minutes. Aren't you going to ride your D-wheel?"

I glanced down only to see though my hands clutched the handlebars of my runner, I was indeed stationary. I stared at them for a few moments longer before reaching to rub the back of my helmet.

 _"Had I really only been staring down the race track all this time? Whoops."_

Well, I had been spacing out a lot more lately, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

"Hey Nii-san, let me time you again!" Lua yelled excitedly as he held up his stopwatch.

"Hey, I want a turn!" Luca declared, "Don't be unfair Lua!"

Lua stuck his tongue out at his sister.

I sighed, _"Here we go again."_

I twisted the throttle and revelled in the sound of the engine roaring to life overpowering the sound of bickering twins.

" **Nii-san**!" Twin cries of annoyance sounded.

"Sorry!"

I was wholly unapologetic.

* * *

Lua didn't know how it all started.

Well actually he did.

It started when a deafening roar rang throughout the night air. It honestly sounded like a heavy, rusty door being opened up after a really long time.

He didn't expect it at all. Nor did he expect to be the only one in the house to be woken from his slumber.

He had jumped out of his bed and bolted out of his room when he had seen a familiar red glow from beyond his room door.

Lua didn't even have to make it to the glass screen door to see it. It was huge, crimson and surrounded by blue lightning. The air was tense and hot and heavy. Had it always been so hard to breathe?

"Nii-san! Luca! There's a giant red lizard in the sky!"

He couldn't move from where he was, his limbs were trembling and he'd rather like to think that it was from excitement.

He stared with wide eyes at the flying beast. Why was it circling around the Memorial Circuit? And speaking of 'why's'- why weren't Nii-san and Luca running out of their rooms?

Lua covered his ears as another screeching groan burst forth from the lizard. Didn't they hear that?

Frantic (and honestly not wanting to be alone), he rushed to his sister's room.

"Luca! Luca!"

When Lua burst into his sister's room he had expected to wake his sister up with a few choice words like –

'I know you're lame when you're awake but are you really lame enough to sleep through all this?'

– Or something along those lines (Forgive him for being a bit freaked about what he saw).

He wasn't prepared to see his sister twisting and turning in her sheets, groaning and clutching her right arm. She looked troubled, like she was having a nightmare, like she was in pain.

And just like that the Giant lizard became the least important thing in his mind. Then again most things tended to take a back seat whenever his sister was in trouble. He rushed over to her, threw the sheets off of her completely and pulled at her arms.

Luca, who was usually a light sleeper didn't wake, but Lua guessed that it was for the best because he didn't know how to explain what he was seeing and he doubted she would be able to either.

Lua's right arm was glowing, the same crimson glow as the giant lizard. Speaking of lizard, the thing that was making her arm glow, the…mark it really reminded him of some sort of claw.

Before Lua could even begin to try and wrap his head around what was going on, before his very eyes, the mark's glow began to dim, before everything disappeared altogether.

Lua let out a shuddering breath. He grasped his sister's arm, tighter than he had been doing initially. He was knelt over his sister's bed, staring first at her arm where the mark once was and then at her face, which had smoothed out so that she seemed to be sleeping peacefully, like nothing had ever happened.

But something had happened.

"Lua," Skylar's voice startled him. His head whipped around only to stare at the silhouette of the only other occupant of the house.

"N-nii-san." His voice quivered, coming out softer than he expected.

A lot of things that he didn't expect were happening tonight.

"L-lua's arm and the l-lizard in the s-sky."

Skylar was quiet for a while, too long a while. She eventually began to move from her position in the doorway, her footsteps muffled as she padded across the carpeted floor. Lua watched as she dropped a hand onto his head and ruffled his hair.

He wished the lighting in the room was better so that he could make out her expression clearly.

"C'mon," she spoke calmly. "Let's leave Luca to rest."

How was he supposed to leave his sister after all of that? Nonetheless, Lua did not protest as Skylar gently guided him away from Luca, out of her room and into his.

"Skylar," he whispered after she tucked him in.

He watched as a sad kind of smile made its way onto her face and he still couldn't quite read the expression on her face, even though she was a lot closer to him this time around.

"Think of it as a bad dream," she spoke as she rose from his bedside. "It's easier that way."

Lua's eyes began to droop, as if his body seemed all too willing to obey.

"But it was real," he mumbled as his vision became darker.

"Was it?"

As his eyes shut and his consciousness began to slip he faintly heard Skylar speak once more. Why was she apologizing?

 _"_ _Things are going to get a lot more difficult for you."_

* * *

It seemed as if it were only yesterday that I had begun to enjoy my days with the twins. It felt like 'Halcyon days: NDC Edition'. But that arc had officially come to an abrupt close.

If the appearance of the Crimson Dragon hadn't been enough of an indication, the fact that I was looking at an invitation to the Fortune Cup made it all even clearer.

Flashback

 _I sighed as I made my way back towards Tops residential area._

 _The Fortune Cup was just two weeks away and I was worried._

 _Luca hadn't received her invitation yet, which made me feel like I had messed something up big time. She was supposed to participate so that she could get over her fear of duelling and so that both she and Lua could be made aware of the reality that is the Crimson Dragon._

 _There had been many times in which I had wanted to tell them. But I didn't. Because 90% of those times I wanted to do so for my own sake. I'm selfish enough to not want to bear this entire burden on my own._

 _The Signers' Keeper._

 _I clutched my arm. For the first time it had lit up. For the first time it had burned. For the first time since I had been reborn, I had seen the Crimson Dragon._

 _Things had truly begun. The cogs had begun to turn, a lot of meetings and changes were about to happen in New Domino City._

 _"_ _Yusei," I spoke softly as I looked up at the sky. I'd finally get to meet the big hero of the story. That central character that every Yu-gi-oh series had. The one person who had the ability to breathe life into every situation, no matter how dim it seemed. The one person who brought everyone together. The one person who everyone placed their faith into. The one person who won the duels that mattered, without fail._

 _I honestly can't help but wonder whose burden was heavier- mine or Yusei's._

 _An airy voice spoke from beside me. "My, my aren't you deep in thought."_

 _I jumped out of instinct, almost falling into the road in the process._

 _I clutched my chest as I glared at the owner of the voice._

 _Red painted lips smiled as a body adorned in a gold trimmed red costume shook from laughter. Laughter that sounded as condescending as it gets._

 _My eyes narrowed as my lips pulled down in a sneer._

 _"_ _Lazar," I drawled._

 _"_ _Who?" the purple haired male queried as gloved hands straightened his suit. Whoops. This was one of the downsides of watching the English Dubbed version. Some of the characters had different names. The other major downside is that I don't know what else the English Version omitted that the Original had. I guess I'd have to wing it._

 _"_ _You must have me confused for someone else." Placing his right hand over where his heart was, Lazar gave a small bow. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Yeager, Head of Special Investigations of the Public Security Maintenance Bureau."_

 _Now wasn't that a mouthful._

 _"_ _And?" Not that I wanted to know. I had a bad feeling about this._

 _"_ _Not one to beat around the bush are you? Just as your file indicated." I didn't like the almost sadistic glint that flashed through Lazar's, er, Yeager's eyes – it was as if he were getting ready to back me up into a corner._

 _Apart from that though._

 _"_ _What file?"_

 _"_ _Your Casper City Duel Academy file of course," he answered as he reached into his coat pocket to take out a small phone-like device. I watched as he appeared to scroll through it. "Your permanent record if you will."_

 _My shoulders tensed and my lips pressed into a thin line. Why did he have that file?_

 _"_ _I'll just get straight to the point," he said as he returned the device to its position in his pocket. "Your records are nothing if not…ordinary."_

 _A lesser person would have face-faulted. I just gave him a deadpan stare, even as he reached into his coat pocket for something else. My eyes widened as he brought out a white envelope._

 _"_ _You're just the kind of struggling duelist we're looking for to enter the Fortune Cup."_

 _Really, I was a struggling duelist now. I stared numbly as he extended the letter towards me._

 _"_ _Is that the story you're going with? 'The Fortune Cup – where even ordinary duelists have the chance to become extraordinary'," I mocked as I gave the short man a hard stare. To my chagrin, he never lost that annoying smirk on his face._

 _"_ _And you're a female turbo duelist. It's sure to inspire millions," La- er-Yeager replied in an equally mocking tone._

 _"_ _Not interested." With that I proceeded to walk off. I did not need this, not today. There wasn't supposed to be a Skylar Kameyo in the Fortune Cup._

 _I heard Lazar mock-sigh. "Whatever shall I do? Oh I know, I suppose I'll just go ahead and send the Fortune Cup invitations to both twins instead of the one."_

 _Needless to say I froze in my steps. I whirled around with a sneer that I'm sure if I saw, I wouldn't recognize myself._

 _"_ _Is that a threat?" I practically snarled through clenched teeth._

 _La-Yeag…you know what forget that – clown boy – had the nerve to look bashful. "Oh my, did I say that out loud? We'll since the proverbial cat is out of the bag, I might as well tell you."_

 _He threw up two fingers. "We have two vacancies for the Fortune Cup. The initial candidates for those vacancies were you and Luca-san. But seeing as you declined, on such short notice…well, I'll just say we might as well take the full package in one go."_

 _My fists clenched as my entire body shook with anger. How dare he? No doubt Goodwin is behind this as well. How dare he try to gain the upper hand by using the both of them?_

 _"_ _Do you think they'll be excited to enter such a prestigious competition? I mean they get to duel in front of thousands. They'd probably want to make their Nanny proud as well."_

 _It was frightening. It had never been this frightening when I had been watching from in front of a screen. Had this world always been like this?_

 _I soon found myself chuckling though. Since when had I become so naïve? Had I not expected this from day one?_

 _"_ _Why exactly are you laughing?" Of course, clown boy didn't like jokes that he didn't get._

 _My fists slowly unclenched and I sank slowly to the ground. I didn't know when the envelope had fallen to the ground, but it didn't matter much to me now. I rose from the ground with the envelope in hand, giving Clown boy a sharp smile._

 _"_ _Fine, I'll duel."_

 _Clown boy paused, before he gave a small mischievous smile, probably just deciding to go with the change in personality seeing as he seemingly achieved his objective._

 _"_ _Thank you for reconsidering." He gave a small bow before turning sharply on his heels and gliding into a black limousine (And when had that pulled up?)._

 _As I watched the limousine disappear from my view, it took all I had to not tear the envelope I held to shreds._

Flashback End

I took a deep breath as I placed the invitation on my dresser. Luca had received hers the same day and by the end of the day, Lua had already come up with the plan to enter as his sister.

Surprisingly enough, Luca had initially wanted to do it…for about a day or so. If Lua had been pestering me the way he had been doing to her, I would've caved sooner. I also may have helped him wear her down, but just a bit. Lua needed to compete after all. Regardless, the point is that Luca had definitely gotten braver and I was proud.

So it was Lua and I. We were entering the Fortune Cup, which was a week away.

.

.

.

Goodbye Halcyon Days indeed.

* * *

Word Count: 3001

* * *

Omake- Luca's Insight

Sometimes she heard things. Not just things though, Luca was always sure that what she heard were duel spirits. Whenever she touched a person's deck, these voices would begin to swim around in her head. The voices were louder when she watched duels, but she could ignore them. The voices were especially loud when she herself was dueling. That was when she couldn't ignore them.

The voices scared her.

Actually it was more of the fact that she was the only one that could hear them. Lua couldn't hear them, nor did he believe that she could hear them, even though he used to. Skylar couldn't hear them either, but whenever Luca would shy away from dueling simulations or flinch during duels with her brother, Skylar would glance at her either apologetically or understandingly.

Oddly enough, that made Luca braver. Skylar (somehow) hadn't looked at her in doubt (though she had never outright stated that she believed that Luca could hear duel spirits), she never had and that was how Luca knew that she knew something, even though Skylar never made any attempt at telling her (or her brother) about anything.

Luca interpreted it as Skylar believing that she could handle it on her own, that she was strong enough to deal with it (whatever it was). After all Skylar had never failed to extend a helping hand when she realized that either her or her brother couldn't do something.

Was it weird that that filled her with confidence?

Was it weird that that made her want to do her best, even if she was still scared?

Skylar had told her once that bravery wasn't the absence of fear, that it was doing something even though you were scared.

When she had asked her how she knew, Skylar smiled in that strange way she always did, as if she had the world on her mind and could only laugh (because the only other options were either to break down and cry or go completely insane), and said that she spoke from experience.

Luca didn't want to know what it was that scared Skylar.

She had thought about asking Skylar's duel spirits, but she knew that she would get nothing beyond the restlessness that they all seemed to exude. Skylar's duel spirits yearned for a duel that would push their master to her limits. They believed that they were only as strong as their master and the only way for their master to become stronger was for her to be pushed to the very edge.

It was because of them that Luca knew that the right duel deck complemented a duelist's personality (It explained why Lua's duel spirits weren't as obnoxious as he was) or at the very least, balanced out a duelist.

Luca wondered more and more about her own duel spirits. She knew that they wanted what was best for her (that she felt more than heard), which was why she felt that they rarely spoke to her, for fear of scaring her. They weren't going to give her more than she could handle.

Maybe she would be the one who needed to push, she was the complement of her deck after all, wasn't she? Maybe she would have to show them that she was ready to be less babied…when she was ready to be less babied that is.

Until then, she'd take Skylar's advice- she'd go as slow as she needed to go, because how she was needed to go was that slow.

* * *

A/N: The Omake was supposed to be placed after the previous chapter, but I was in such a rush to upload, that I forgot to put it in. But here it is. And things are progressing. The next chapter will be fun.

I apologize for the awkward wording/phrasing as it results to the D-wheel/Runner descriptions. I'll give more info on it in the next chapter, such as which motorcycle I based it on, some of the motorcycle concepts I'm thinking of, etc.

Thanks to those who reviewed/viewed/favourited/followed.

Constructive criticism/comments/questions/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Please review guys.

Thanks for reading.

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	10. Chapter 10

I do not own Yugioh!5D's

Chapter 10- Characters in Motion

- _We can each define ambition and progress for ourselves. The goal is to work toward a world where expectations are not set by the stereotypes that hold us back, but by our personal passion, talents and interests_ \- Sheryl Sandberg

* * *

Change was what moved life along. After all, you could be living your life today, just as you would have any other day, and then something happens, something changes and that change affords a series of events. Ultimately, your life after that change will be different from the life you led before that change.

There had been a lot of changes in Yusei Fudo's life, the most recent change being the act of betrayal committed by his brother in all but blood, Jack Atlas.

Yusei had thought that Jack had come to understand the strength and importance of the Bonds that existed between friends.

But Jack was more a child of his environment than Yusei ever was. They grew up in an unforgiving world.

Satellite.

A desolate place with the power to make the people within it reflect its barrenness. He saw it every day.

But then again it wasn't Satellite's fault, at least not entirely. New Domino City played a hand in this as well.

Poverty and Prejudice – that's what the persons of Satellite experienced on a daily basis. But sadly, it wasn't anything new. The New Domino-Satellite situation was just an extreme reflection of what happened in societies all over the world.

Those who had power, took from those who didn't. Those who had infrastructure built, took even more using the labour of those who didn't.

A parasitic relationship existed between the two cities. New Domino City thrived off of the labour of the Satellite and the people there suffered as a result. Sadly enough, the mind-set of the majority of persons of both New DC and Satellite – 'Why try to fix something that can't be fixed?'

Satellite was that broken place that they thought couldn't be fixed.

It was enough to make a person empty and then fill them up with bitterness. That's what happened to Jack.

Jack wanted to show the world that it was wrong. The world that made him an orphan, the world that made him live in such a infertile place, the world told him that he was less from day one. Jack was nothing if not ambitious. He wanted to elevate himself and laugh at the world from where he was.

He had something to prove, but so did Yusei. First Yusei was going to prove to Jack that having bonds didn't make one weak or hold anyone back. He was going to beat Jack and get his Stardust Dragon back.

Then he was going to prove to Jack that no situation was hopeless. He was going to find a way to unite New Domino City and the Satellite and prove that joining with your friends, not abandoning them, was how you made an impact.

That's why he wouldn't let anything stop him. That's why he wouldn't give up hope that there was a brighter tomorrow for everyone. Maybe if he had given up hope he'd have ended up as bitter and empty as Jack.

Jack was a person that learnt the hard way and Yusei was more than willing to follow through.

He had been close to getting his Stardust Dragon back. Now he was left with more questions than answers.

After all, change was what moved life along and it came in many different ways and forms. He never expected that it would come in the form of a Crimson Dragon.

But before he could even begin to figure that situation out, he needed his D-wheel and his deck. To do that he needed help.

Here's to hoping that this 'Saiga' can come through for him.

* * *

If I've said it once, I'll be happy to repeat it.

Paperwork is evil.

I had to register my Runner, er, D-wheel (I really needed start using that name more) as all riders had to every year.

With that said, the registrar office was jammed with drivers of cars, trucks, bikes and D-wheels alike. And would you believe that they all had an appointment on the same day as me? And it was late in the afternoon too.

It'd just been bad timing that I had to be registering my D-wheel days away from the Fortune Cup. The fact that they were so backlogged was just the Fates laughing at me.

"Lua," I spoke through my cell, "I'm going to be home a bit late."

"Okay, take your time! Bye!"

I stared at the cell confusedly. ' _He hung up in a rush.'_

Which meant he was up to something.

…I rolled my eyes. Honestly, when wasn't that boy up to something?

* * *

I sighed as I made my way towards Tops Residential Area. I was really looking forward to resting for the remainder of the day. It had definitely been an exhausting two days. After having to deal with my D-wheel registration yesterday and then seeing to a few tune ups to it at the sister branch of DMI earlier today, I was more than ready to relax.

But the same time I was thankful for how busy I was. I was getting more and more nervous as the Fortune Cup got nearer and nearer.

I was expected to duel in front of thousands of people. I was expected to _turbo duel_ in front of thousands of people. I'd never been on television before.

Of course that was the least of my problems. There was a high chance of me meeting Goodwin face to face. I'd have nowhere to run this time. I'd have to see Jacky again too and I'd meet up with 'I make the damage real' Akiza. Also –

Yusei was supposed to show up around the twins soon. But where was he?

"Those people in the Tops Area really irk me!" A gruff voice yelled.

As I neared the entrance to the Tops Residential Area, I saw a car parked up by the main gate. It didn't seem as if whoever drove the car was going to get in, nor was his companion who leaned against the car looking nothing but disgruntled.

I shrugged my shoulders. It wasn't any of my business.

"Otome-san," I said as I bowed respectfully, if only to appease the notoriously uptight, er, upright security guard.

"Kameyo-san," he greeted in turn as he moved to open the automated gate.

I was about to enter through the gate when the same man who stood against the car hollered at me. "Hey kid!"

I could've not turned and looked at him, really I could've. But would that make me any different than many other snooty Top residents? I so didn't have time for social discrimination.

"Watch out okay, Satellite scum has infested the neighbourhood," he growled.

Huh, it seemed as if the officer couldn't tolerate being on the receiving end of discrimination but he could sure dish it out.

Nonetheless –

"Satellite scum?"

"You don't need to concern yourself with this man Kameyo-san," I watched as the guard's usually impassive face gained a small smirk, "These Public Security Officers were just leaving in order to get the proper documents needed to search the premises."

The burly officer literally growled and seemed as if he were a lion waiting to pounce but thought better of it.

"Kid – "

I didn't stop to listen to what he had to stay, having already broken out into a sprint towards the tallest building within the area.

Could Yusei have already appeared?

I hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary when I had arrived home last night…at least I didn't look for anything out of the ordinary.

It didn't take long for me to get to the building and into an elevator (though the ride seemed to drag on even more so than usual), then after that it was a simple thing to get to the entrance to the apartment.

I reached towards the panel by the door. One push of a button and the door would be open.

But I hesitated.

What if Yusei was really beyond this door? What would happen then?

…Okay so I know what would happen, but…this could be my last chance to well, turn away. If I were to disappear, things could probably go the same way they did in the original version of the series.

The twins probably wouldn't forgive me if I were to just walk away, nor me myself for doing that to them. But the choice was still there.

I ruffled my hair frantically as I groaned.

' _Arrgh!'_

"Forget this," I muttered softly, finally deciding to just open the door and let whatever was to happen, happen.

Before I could reach for the panel, the door slid open.

Black hair with gold highlights jutting out in all directions, a jagged criminal mark on the left side of a tanned face and finally royal blue irises immediately locking onto my verdant ones – that's what immediately filled my vision.

I really wasn't prepared for this moment. I know that I should be, but I wasn't. I always preferred simulations to reality either way. I could think of a million and one ways in which multiple situations could turn out, but I hesitated in the execution. Always.

That feeling one got when one's every movement was being watched seemed intensified by a thousand time under _his_ eyes. His gaze was penetrating and unrelenting, analysing me. I wasn't used to persons trying to see beneath the surface – trying to see more than what was presented – right off the bat.

It was unnerving.

It needed to stop.

Now.

" **Nii-san**!"

Huh?

I snapped my attention to the twins, who were now crouched down in front of me and hovering around the figure that was now on the ground.

I repeat – Huh?

Royal blue irises found my eyes once more, this time the owner of the irises clutched the side of his face. I stared wide eyed, before looking to my right hand to see it clenched into a fist.

I slowly unclenched my hand.

…Whoops.

* * *

"Nii-san if you want to apologize just apologize already," Lua whined. Currently we were all situated in the living room. Yusei sat in the couch, while the twins and I stood opposite to him, the coffee table separating us.

"~I wanna duel him~"

Lua tugged at my sleeves, but my arms remain folded.

"Who says that I wanna apologize you brat?" I ground out as a blush spread across my face.

I eyed Yusei up and down. He…looked exactly like he did in the anime only more…real?

"Wasn't that a normal response when one finds a complete stranger in one's home?"  
Maybe not a complete stranger, but then again I knew him only from what I had seen.

I snapped my gaze to my left, where both twins were. "And how you hid an entire person for the entire night is a conversation that we are going to have."

I gave them a hard stare. This world could be just as cruel to children as in the real world.

My stare didn't relent even as they seemingly withered beneath my gaze – Lua looking away from my stare and Luca nervously playing with her pigtails.

"Sorry."

My eyes shifted to Yusei, who spoke for the very first time in my hearing, "It's my fault, don't blame them."

"Yusei," Luca spoke softly and I had to wonder exactly what his deck had told her.

"I should get going going," Yusei said as he rose from the couch and headed towards the door. His Runner, er, D-wheel was near the door as well. "I don't want to cause any more trouble."

How had the twins managed to carry a grown man and his D-wheel and then hide both from me? I had seriously underestimated them.

"No Yusei wait!" Lua exclaimed running towards the closest. He rummaged through it for a bit, before taking out a blue duel disk. It had been the duel disk that the Academy had given him, Lua had gotten one for herself, only pink. I had been meaning to get them new ones because the Academy ones were too big.

"You're no trouble at all," Lua spoke as he bounced up to him. "Besides, I want you to duel me. And you have to accept – a duelist always accepts any challenge he's posed!"

"Now _you're_ causing trouble Lua," Luca spoke up from beside me.

Had I suddenly become invisible or something?

"But Yusei looks like a tough and I wanna duel against tough duelists!" Lua gave his sister a resolute stare before turning back to Yusei. "Let's play, Yusei! I don't even care if I lose. Nii-san always says that win or lose you always learn. And the more you learn the more you hone your skills."

I couldn't help the small smile I directed towards Lua. The twins really did take most of what I said to heart.

"Is that right?" Yusei replied with a small smile of his own as he too looked at Lua.

"Yeah! So let's play! Let's play! Let's play!"

 _'_ _Such a kid,'_ I thought as I watched him wave his hands excitedly, only to have his duel disk slip down his arm.

I chuckled at the embarrassed sigh that escaped his sister.

"Fine. Let's play," Yusei announced as he watched Lua fumble with his duel disk.

I twitched. I felt ticked off in a way.

Lua and Luca weren't usually like this towards strangers, but I thought back to how the twins and I had met. I knew that it was much more than Lua getting some kind of feeling from me and my cards. What connected us was the Crimson Dragon. From the very beginning the Signers were fated to come together. This…whatever it was that seemed to be forming between the twins and Yusei was only the beginning. This was to happen to all the Signers.

Connected by Destiny (Fate?), friends by choice.

But what was this dropping feeling in my stomach all about?

"Nii-san," Luca shook my arm.

I blinked and gazed down at her.

"Yusei said that he'd duel Lua but only if it was okay with you."

I hummed at the information. Had he?

"You spaced out again didn't you?" Luca sighed.

"Don't worry about it Yusei. Nii-san's been spacing out a lot lately."

I felt my cheeks warm at Lua's declaration, especially since both of them, including Yusei, were staring at me.

"Fine," I said looking away. So maybe I wasn't invisible. "Have your duel."

"Alright! This is gonna be awesome!"

* * *

I watched as Yusei adjusted Lua's duel disk, so that it'd stop slipping off of his arm (at least for the time being). We had moved the duel pool-side.

Not something I was particularly comfortable doing. I couldn't swim, and though the twins could…well, if they got into any complications, I wouldn't be able to help.

I guess as long as we stayed by the shallow end…

"No one else is here?" Yusei asked. I wasn't sure who he directed the question towards – me or the twins? He didn't seem very chatty. It was a pity I couldn't remember exact character details. But that was expected wasn't it? It's been so many years after all.

Lua answered. "It's just us on this floor."

Luca picked up the conversation. "We've always been together, just the two of us."

I sighed at her comment. It was true and it wasn't a good thing. Children need their parents when growing up. The twin's parents were always so busy, the most the twins got were the occasional phone calls and rare video chats. I knew that the twins were sad about it.

'Mother' and 'Father' – the words for God on the lips and hearts of children. That's how important parents were. I felt that I'd been partly cheated out of having that – parents, I mean – in both lives.

That's something else that the twins and I share, unfortunately.

Of course, they had me but I wasn't their parents. I wasn't enough for them, at least that's what I thought.

"But then came the day that Nii-san kidnapped us!" Lua said happily. "So now it's the three of us!"

This time I was conscious of what my fist did. I thumped Lua at the back of his head, not too hard to cause any permanent damage of course.

"How many times have I told you to stop telling the story like that?" I grit out with no real heat. But seriously, persons could start to see me as some kind of paedophile if he kept on saying that.

"Fine, then came the day Nii-san _accidentally_ kidnapped us," Luca told with a sly smile. Luca wasn't always one for teasing, what with her demure nature, but I welcomed it. I loved seeing her come out of her shell.

I couldn't deny the warm feeling that spread across my chest. My heart beat a bit faster.

"Brats," I announced affectionately, watching as they mirrored the smile that was no doubt on my face.

"I see," Yusei spoke as he rose from his crouch having finished with adjusting Lua's disk. I could have sworn I saw Yusei smile as he rose. I wonder what he saw as he looked on.

"You're all set. Let's begin."

"Thank you Yusei!"

"Don't mention it," Yusei replied as he began to distance himself from Lua. "We'll begin on your turn."

"Okay!"

I chuckled as Luca and I sat on the nearby bench to watch the duel. Lua was always excited to duel.

I watched as both duelists activated their disks.

The stage was set. My eyes travelled between the two. Time to see what I was working with.

* * *

Normal people would constitute the day he was having as just plain terrible.

He had gotten his D-wheel and Deck from the detention center only to be intercepted yet again by Ushio. He ended up crashing into garbage. Thankfully he walked away mostly unscathed, with only a headache to remind him of the accident, because it could have been worse. He could have gotten amnesia.

Then he woke up and for a short while thought he was seeing doubles. Fortunately, they were just twins. In fact one of them reminded him of Rally.

Innocent and open-minded, if not gullible. They had to be to not have run when they had seen his marker. They also gave him refuge, doing their best to goad him into staying.

He didn't want to cause any trouble for children who he knew were leading a better life than he had when he was their age.

He had made to leave, he still had unfinished business with Jack, but as soon as he had opened the door he got punched. A unique greeting.

Now he was about to duel one of the 12 year old twins – the boy whose personality reminded him of Rally. He didn't mind though. He'd allow himself this small break. Besides, he's already anticipated Ushio and other Security members staking out the entrances and exits of the Tops area. He'd let them stew and get antsy for a bit.

If he were to be honest, the events of the day thus far were the most normal things to happen to him in comparison to the last few days.

…He wasn't even going to even go there…

Normal people would constitute the day he was having as just plain terrible –

But he wasn't complaining.

* * *

I watched on in interest. Lua was the one who initially had the upper hand but he was still too cocky and more focused on getting all the cards he wanted together on the field than he was with pre-empting his opponent's next move. More often than not, Lua failed to counterattack his opponent's move.

He needed to get past that. He needed to realize that not every 'winning' combo that he came up with would win. Whenever Lua's key card or combinations gets destroyed he thinks it's the end of the duel.

He still had a lot to learn…and so did I of course.

Yusei had switched all four of Lua's monsters' battle modes (there went Lua's Deformer Army defense or his 'Magne-lock' as he called it), so his Magnet-U's were now in attack mode, while his Deformer Mobaphon (that was definitely not the name I remember from the English version of the show, so even now it sounded so weird) and Deformer Chakkan were now in defense positon.

I watched as Yusei Synchro summoned back to back ultimately ending up with Nitro Warrior. My nose twitched. It was an impressive combination. I'd never been able to pull off something like that so early on in a duel before.

The end result of the duel was as I expected – Yusei won. In just four turns too. I sighed as Luca rose from the bench and went towards Lua whom Yusei had gone up to as well, no doubt offering words of encouragement.

Yusei and I were definitely at different levels. Nonetheless I wonder how I'd fair in a duel against him.

I finally rose from the bench with a small clap. I watched as Lua ducked his head nervously and suddenly I saw an image of myself from eight years ago. I blinked the image away as I smiled.

"I lost," he mumbled sadly.

I couldn't resist ruffling his hair. Pouty Lua was adorable.

"It happens," I admitted, "I look forward to seeing how you use this experience in future duels. Nonetheless, win or lose – I believe in you."

"It seems like you've got a good teacher." I smiled at Yusei's words.

"You're awesome Yusei!" Lua declared. The boy bounces back fast, I'll give him that much. "You're really tough! Will you duel me again?"

"Sometime later," Yusei announced as he turned away from us. I had never thought of Yusei as a man of few words, but with what I've been seeing I'm beginning to think just that. "Thanks for your help."

"Where are you going?" Luca spoke, which was odd. It wasn't often that Luca beat Lua to the punch, she usually just let him have the first word.

He paused and turned halfway in our direction, using his thumb to point at the marker on his face. "Look at this marker. If you hung around me, I'd only cause you trouble."

I simply watched as the twins tried to convince Yusei to stay. I relished the fact that if it had been me in his position, if it had been me who was being subject to the twin's 'Please Oblige' routine, I would have lasted longer.

When Yusei looked over to me, silently asking permission, I remembered that I was the authority figure in this situation. In retrospect though, letting a marked stranger duel my pre-teen ward in the very building that we lived, where we were the only ones on that floor didn't seem like the choice a wise authority figure would make.

"I'll get started on dinner."

I've already come this far.

* * *

I had put the twins to bed. Dinner went unexpectedly well and wasn't as awkward as I thought it'd be.

With that said. I couldn't just fall asleep and leave Yusei in the home unattended/unwatched. I was still a bundle of nerves and there was so much that I wanted to talk to him about. There was so much I wanted to say.

If there was anyone who would be able to handle the burden I had it was Yusei. What a pity it wasn't like a relay race. If I had my way, I'd pass the baton forward to Yusei, finally ending my leg of the race.

I walked down the stairs to find Yusei on the couch, Lua and Luca's duel disks on the table in front of him. Without much ado, I sat in the only arm chair in the room. I had always thought that the house was too big for the three of us much less the twins alone.

I sat down and overtly observed him as he worked. The fact that he was able to fix the duel disks and go through the motions so fluidly was testament to his mechanical skills. Neither of us spoke for what felt like hours.

I eventually decided to try my luck. The big hero of the story was right in front of me, how could I let this opportunity pass by?

"Public Security has the exits staked out."

I had noticed a few of them by the West gate when I had gone to empty the garbage. Yusei paused for a moment before continuing his work on the disks.

"It's almost midnight so if you're planning to leave, the best time to do it will be in about half an hour or so."

There was silence for a while until Yusei finally decided to speak.

"You don't question the fact that those kids just found and took in a total stranger?" Yusei asked with a raised brow. I couldn't help but bristle a bit at having him scrutinize my babysitting skills.

"They may be kids, but they're good judges of character, especially Luca. I have no doubt that she sensed something different about you." Though I thought I'd see Yusei react to my words in some way, he didn't. And naturally the first thing he says to me and it's a criticism.

"Besides, that's what _I'm_ here for. I don't know you, and I don't trust you." I actually know about you and trust what you can do. "Hurt my kids and Public Security will be the least of your worries. Promise."

It surprised me how I had taken to the kids during the months I've spent with them, given my tendency to try and not get attached to persons. Was this to be the same with all the Signers? I was their Keeper after all, but was that merely a job or was I destined to form bonds with them more so than with other persons?

It would make sense. If I was emotionally attached to them, then I'd do nothing less than my best to protect them.

Would I really be their Keeper then? Or would I be more of a martyr?

Green locked onto blue as I sought to convey my seriousness to the man across from me. Something flickered across Yusei's eyes – acceptance (approval?).

"Thank you for helping me." I rolled my eyes, tired of hearing him say that. He held out his right hand. I had figured a long time ago that the Y5D's world seemed to function under some kind of quasi-Japanese/American motif. I was okay with that.

I shook it firmly, "I'm Skylar."

Indeed, I took this long to officially introduce myself.

"It's good to meet you…Skylar," he spoke. A pulse suddenly travelled through my right arm and I let go of Yusei's hand as if burnt.

I quickly looked at Yusei only to see that he now gazed at me, an eyebrow raised, his expression cool.

 _'_ _I hope he doesn't think I snubbed him.'_

But hadn't he felt that?

I raised my eyebrows in turn. My pride demanded that I not back down from him. In any case wouldn't backing down be an admission of guilt?

"If you're finished," I gestured towards the now newly customized disk on the table, "I'll see you out…of the building."

A small smile flitted across his face for some odd reason, but he nodded nonetheless and made his way towards his runner which was nearby the entrance. I followed behind him quietly.

As we exited the house I hid a wince. The twins were not going to be happy with this development.

The ride down from the 50th floor was almost as long as the ride I took up yesterday. The elevator was spacious, spacious enough for two people and a D-wheel. Silence reigned for most of the journey. That is until we got to the parking lot. Yusei had mounted his Runner (and I vaguely thought it a pity that he had to leave so soon. Maybe if he stuck around long enough I'd have the guts to…well spill my guts).

"Remember when I said that Luca probably sensed something different about you?" Yusei nodded though I could see his shoulders tense a bit.

"They did the same to me over a year ago and I haven't gotten rid of them since." My lips quirked up into a fond smile. "Chances are you won't be able to get rid of them either."

"And you?" I've had just about enough of Yusei's unwavering, soul-searching stare.

 _Definitely won't be able to get rid of me, none of you signers will._

I smiled mysteriously (at least I hoped it looked mysterious and not self-depreciating) at him, just letting the question hang in the air.

I tossed Yusei's helmet to him, he caught it deftly.

"Drive safely, Hero." I turned and walked away. I stopped only when I heard the sound of a duel Runner revving and I glanced back to see Yusei speed off.

"…'Drive safely, Hero'?" I repeated under my breath as I made my way back to the elevator. I groaned.

Where had that come from?

My mouth opened by its own volition and then those words came out. Where did I get off trying to act all cool? Was I subconsciously threatened by the seemingly imperturbable disposition that was associated with Yusei Fudo?

I shook my head. That wasn't possible.

…Even so what had I been thinking?

I could be so lame sometimes.

* * *

Everything was progressing as expected.

Soon the Signers would be gathered. At the end of this Fortune Cup he was sure that he'd have all the signers in the palm of his hands.

Soon his present day Utopia, his New Domino City would become perfect and the rest of the world with it. One way or the other he'd get it done. He could only trust himself after all. There was no one else but him.

He was the sole builder. Everyone beneath and around him were his tools. A builder without tools could still find a way, but tools without a builder were useless. And currently there were several tools scattered within New Domino City who were in need of their builder.

Which was why it had been necessary for him to rise to the top, why he had had to attain power. His power and influence made it so much easier to find his tools, which would ultimately make the reconstruction plans go all the more smoother.

He heard the door to his office slide open. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, before he turned his gaze away from his view of New Domino City.

"Has it been done?" he asked as he strode towards his desk, passing the figure that had entered moments ago. He sat at his desk as he met the eyes of his assistant.

A loud snicker travelled through his office.

"Why of course Director," Lazar spoke his lips rising in a smirk. "The last of the invitations have been distributed and I'm happy to report Fudo-san's…agreement. However reluctant and forced it may have been."

Yes, everything was progressing as expected.

* * *

Word count: 5193

A/N: So this chapter is the longest chapter thus far. Skylar's Runner/D-wheel is based on Yamaha's Tesseract four-wheel motorcycle (2007). You can check out images of it online. And with that said- I've got a few thoughts on what to name Sky's Runner. I'm not too sure what name I want to give to her D-wheel, but I'm working on it. If you have any suggestions put them in a review or simply PM me. I might just simply call it the 'Tesseract' (and note that I'm keeping to a turtle-theme thing).

In terms of duels, I won't be re-writing any duels seen in canon unless there is some change, or if I'm going in depth on what a character is thinking/feeling during a duel. Hence why only the latter part of Lua vs Yusei was shown. And you will see Sky dueling...eventually.

A reviewer asked me about why the twins called Skylar 'Nii-san' (Older Brother) as opposed to 'Nee-san' (Older Sister).

Well, when the twins first met Skylar they thought she was a guy (Sky, with how she dresses (and looks) can pass as an effeminate male). Hence why Lua addressed her as Nii-san when they first met her. They do know that she is a girl though. And I am aware of the differences between 'Nii-san' and 'Nee-san'. Think of it as the title 'Nii-san' just sticking and them calling her that is more of a joke/thing between the three of them. Sorry for any confusion caused.

Whew, lengthy chapter, lengthy A/N.

Super special thanks to those who reviewed! Thank you to those who viewed/favourited/followed.

Constructive criticism/comments/questions/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Please review guys.

Thanks for reading.

U.P.: Sign Out


	11. Chapter 11

I do not own Yugioh!5D's

Chapter 11- Harvest

 _-_ _What we plant in the soil of contemplation, we shall reap in the harvest of action-_ Meister Eckhart

* * *

Luca always had to pick up Lua's slack, more so with them just beginning to attend Duel Academy.

They'd started a year later than they were supposed to but they'd integrated well. Skylar-nii-san hadn't given them much in terms of what to expect. She had simply shrugged and said 'You never can tell.'

But she digressed. Anyway, there were a lot of times that Luca had to cover for Lua. Though they were still together at school, she'd had to be sharing his attention with multiple persons (predictably enough teachers weren't often any of those persons), like Tenpei and Bob. Well she guessed that the fact that she had Patty and that both she and Lua had Sly (maybe) as friends then it was…okay.

She still wasn't used to sharing her brother, but she was trying her best to. The thing was that where she refused to take part in his recklessness (Lua dubbed it 'adventuring') he'd somehow manage to rope either Tenpei or Bob into accompanying him (though it was mostly Tenpei these days).

This time he'd somehow managed to influence Tenpei to convince himself that it was actually a good idea to go seek and challenge the mythical 'Black Rose Witch'.

Luca couldn't help but sigh as she swung her legs back and forth from where she sat on the couch. Lua had all but begged her to stall Nii-san, who had yet to talk to them about the fact that they had hid a possibly dangerous and marked person for the better part of a night. Luca vaguely wondered how Nii-san would handle the situation.

'You have a choice. When you make a decision, good or bad, you deal with the consequences'. She always said things like that (which was why both she and Lua thought that she was a particularly weird teenager).

Lua had bailed before Nii-san had a chance to talk to them.

…Maybe she should have gone with him.

It was kind of boring to wait on Nii-san to wake up. It had been one of those rare times in which Nii-san had chosen to sleep in her room and even rarer times when they were up before her. If Yusei had still been there she would've liked to talk to him a bit more.

He himself had said he was trouble (even though his cards said that he was nothing but warm, caring and dedicated) but she still would have liked to know more about him. Like where was he from? How'd he learn to duel like he did? With such polished confidence. Would she be able to duel like that someday?

"Luca."

Aforementioned girl jumped a bit, surprised. She looked up only to see her caregiver looking down at her sleepily.

"What were you doing?" She paused. "The house is quiet, where's Lua?"

Luca felt a bit guilty – well very guilty –for what she was about to do. She and Lua had rarely ever sent Nii-san around in circles, if at all.

"I was just thinking about…things," she said in a small voice, decidedly ignoring the latter question that she had been asked. Luca had found out what worked for her – less is more (the less she said, the better this would work out). It helped that Skylar-nii-san was the least suspicious of her.

Her Nii-san raised her brows.

Okay so she could be wrong about that least suspicious thing.

Luca fidgeted. "Um, girl things."

"Girl things?" Nii-san parroted dumbly and Luca did her best to restrain her giggles even as she felt her cheeks tinge.

"Hai, _girl_ things."

Luca watched as realization dawned on the teen before her. Skylar-nii-san cleared her throat nervously and tugged at the collar of the undershirt she usually slept in.

"Oh, well…" Nii-san trailed off awkwardly as she slid beside her on the couch. A heavy silence followed. "How old are you again?"

"Twelve Nii-san," Luca answered suddenly finding the floor very interesting.

"Right, the twelve year old version it is," Skylar spoke as she seemed to grasp at some unseen thread of resolve.

Lua so owed her.

* * *

Saiga had thought he'd seen it all.

Then he met Yusei.

If someone had asked Saiga if he believed that one person could change his view on friendship and bonds in the space of one night, his answer would have been 'No'.

If someone had asked Saiga if he believed that that same person would manage to take back his Deck and D-wheel from where it was being held at the detention center, his answer would have been – 'Probably'. After all Saiga himself had assisted in the plot.

If someone had asked Saiga if he believed that that person would manage to escape the Security Bureau and get invited to the Fortune Cup, again all in one night, he'd have taken a little longer to answer but his answer still would have said 'No'.

If someone had asked Saiga if he believed that that person would manage to get him, Saiga, to risk his neck to travel to the Satellite to check on the friends of that person, he would have quite plainly told that someone to shut up.

But he would also concede the fact that he believed that Yusei Fudo was indeed a miracle worker.

He had to be to get someone like Himuro and Old Man Yanagi to put such faith in him. He, Saiga, wasn't an exception either.

It was humorous how odd a bunch the four of them currently made and it was all because of Yusei.

That's right – Yusei seemed to be like a catalyst for all the weird things happening to and around them.

Like the King of Riding Duels leaving his high tower to grace the Daimon Area with his magnanimous presence. Apparently he and Yusei had history.

Hell, the guy even had kids following him like they were excited puppies and some sort of mythical connection with the famed Black Rose Witch.

Never before had Saiga witnessed so many things happening to or around him.

Man, what a week.

* * *

I sighed as I followed the route mapped out on my D-wheel's GPS. I rode my D-wheel at a moderate speed, mindful of the small passenger that held onto my midriff for dear life. We both had our protective gear. I had thought ahead and bought necessary padding and helmets for the twins. Thankfully my runner could facilitate additional persons. With Lua and Luca being so small (I wasn't exactly on the large side either), both them and myself could ride safely on it. With that said, I was seriously considering detachable side carts for them.

Anyway, I didn't know what to be more upset about – the fact that I in my…not 18-ish mind was outsmarted by a couple of pre-teens or the fact that Lua was endangering himself.

…The latter was the more unselfish of the two, but the first had hit a blow to my ego. And what was I going to tell the twin's parents? If I were them, I would fire me if I ever found out about what had been happening for the past few days.

But what mattered now was getting Lua and Point-Dexter before they got hurt.

I was about 5 minutes away from where the Black Witch was said to be showing up. Luca had gotten the location from Lua before he had left (I was disappointed in Luca though. I had thought that she was more responsible).

I shuddered to think of the destruction that would result in Akiza's appearance. She was hurting and at this point in the series, when she hurt, everyone else around her hurt.

A pained yelp from behind startled me and I felt Luca's grip around my waist loosen. I did a sharp turn off of the road, pulling over quickly for fear of the young girl falling off.

Once the D-wheel was securely parked by the sidewalk I twisted to see Luca's small frame trembling as she clutched her right arm, her mark glowing ominously.

I bit my lip in trepidation. I should have left her at home. Even as the ground underneath us began to shake, I didn't give it much attention, Luca remained my sole focus.

The Black Rose Witch, Akiza, had no doubt shown up and her pain was being transmitted through her mark. Her mark which connected her to the other signers, of which Luca was now one of the closest.

Luca was feeling Akiza's pain.

I didn't know if I should touch her. That time with Yusei, my arm had felt as if it was burning. But as I listened to her whimpers increase in intensity, I couldn't do anything other than hold her.

And didn't that make me feel useless.

"I'm sorry," I whispered to her. There was a sudden urge, a desperate need to comfort her. "I'd take it away if I could."

Why was I the Signers' Keeper? What was I supposed to do? If I couldn't take away the pain from the least of them, what was the point of my existence?

That burning feeling was back in my arm and for the first time I could ever recall, before my very eyes, my mark began to radiate as intensely as Luca's was.

 **'…** **Alone…'**

That didn't come from Luca, I think. That wasn't a voice I recognized at all.

 **'** **I'm all…alone'**

The voice was in my head, nowhere else but in my head, echoing throughout my mind. It felt so unnatural.

So caught up was I that I didn't even notice Luca's trembling begin to subside, her breathing evening out.

 **'** **I don't want to be alone!'**

I didn't notice the bleary yet worried look Luca sent my way as I clutched my head, trying to quell the painful feeling of something trying to escape from the confines of my mind.

I screwed my eyes shut, the sudden appearance of a beam of light, not allowing me to do much else.

 _'_ _Why…is this…happening?'_

* * *

Do you know what I find creepy? Old people.

(Well not all of them – Old Man Mike was one of the exception).

Their skin was wrinkly, their gums weak, so more than a few teeth could be missing, their bones were weary, sometimes they walked around bent and sometimes they were just plain insane.

Maybe it was the fact that had I not been in my present form, I'd be all the more closer to becoming old in body.

Why do I bring up old people you ask?

Flashback

 _"_ _Hey, when do you think she'll wake up?"_

 _I didn't recognize that voice._

 _"_ _I don't know, but don't hover old man," a gruff voice answered the first._

 _I didn't recognize that one either._

 _"_ _Hey, I think she's waking up!"_

 _I suddenly got that feeling that one gets when your eyes are closed and someone or something is really close to your face._

 _I opened my eyes slowly, only to end up looking up into an old and time-worn face just inches away from mine. I stared incomprehensively as the same time-worn face gave way to a gold toothed smile._

 _"_ _Heya missy!"_

 _I stared for a moment longer._

 _Then I yelled, shooting up from wherever I had been laying. Wherever I had been lying apparently hadn't been that big, so I ended up rolling off of it and falling to the ground on my back._

 _I saw spots in my vision for a bit, before I blinked them away._

 _I wished I didn't though. The next thing I knew, on top of staring at Old gold tooth, I'm also staring up at this huge male whose hair looked as if it were half of a spiked wrecking ball._

 _My reaction?_

 _"_ _Aaaaah!"_

End Flashback

If it wasn't for the twins running into the room after that moment, I'd have thought that I'd been kidnapped…again.

As it was now the twins were outside with both the Old gold tooth and Spike. Apparently Point-Dexter had gone home – his mother had picked him up. I snorted, wondering what her reaction was.

It turns out that I had passed out on the sidewalk. Thankfully though, I had passed out quite near to where Lua was, who had been with Yusei, the Old gold tooth (Yanagi), Spike (Himuro. I know that's not the name I had once known but whatever) and Saiga (I had no idea who that was).

Luca had run to them for help and both my D-wheel and I ended up…wherever it was that Yusei was staying during his time in the Daimon Area. The place was pretty empty, having only the bare minimum. I had occupied the couch while I had been unconscious.

I was still trying to wrap my head around what had happened.

From what Lua had told me, that is, in between the rush of words he relinquished during his nervous rambling – the Black Witch had shown up, freaked out and left in a beam of light.

Disappointing. The description just did not do justice to the intense episode that no doubt occurred during Akiza's appearance.

Speaking of episode, Luca had failed to meet my eyes during the few times she spoke to me since I woke up. Which meant that she saw something – probably the mark on my right arm.

I had worked hard to conceal the mark on my arm from them. But maybe that hadn't been one of my brightest ideas.

Hopefully when I finally do reveal my mark, the twins won't feel betrayed.

"Are you alright?" A soda can entered my field of vision. I clasped it with both hands, looking up at Yusei at the same time. My eyes briefly ran up and down the arm that was closest to me. It was bare and muscled.

"Thank you," I spoke softly as I nodded. My arms were nowhere near as toned (or tanned) as his, but I refused to pout, outwardly.

My gaze flittered around the room, pausing at the sight of Yusei's runner. I noticed the tools scattered around it as well as the laptop that was no doubt used to check the Runner's progress. He'd been fixing his Runner the entire time I'd been spaced out.

I really needed to do something about that.

I took a long sip from the can.

Yusei nodded and walked towards his Runner, grasping the jacket that had been thrown over it and putting it on.

"You gave the kids quite a scare." He crouched down to pick his tools off of the ground and I wondered why he was suddenly so chatty.

I sighed in answer nonetheless. I was more drained than I thought I was. Regardless, the twins were going to get it when we got home.

"You're D-wheel is parked up outside," he spoke as he rose from the ground. He then went over to where the laptop was, shutting it down before slipping on his gloves. I placed the now empty can on the table closest to the couch.

"It's impressive. I've never seen one like it before. Did you build it yourself?"

That's right, Yusei was particularly passionate about D-wheels.

I couldn't help but smile.

I rose with a huge stretch, unladylike probably (not that I bothered acting ladylike any which way), and shook my head in the negative.

"My mentor built it for me," I answered with a fond smile as I thought of the Old Man (who was going to chew my head off because I haven't called him in a while). "I know enough to fix one though…on a good day."

Yusei smiled at the admission. I inwardly berated myself when I felt my cheeks heat up a bit, it wasn't as if I needed his approval.

"Let's go," Yusei announced as he threw on his helmet and went to open the garage door.

I stared at him questionably. Catching my look, he elaborated. "It's late. You and the twins need to get home. It'd be safer if we each carry a twin."

I couldn't deny the fact that he was right. He started pushing his D-wheel out of the small room.

"Ah," Yusei paused, "I hope we get a chance to duel each other later."

I smiled as I watched him and the D-wheel fully exit the small room.

 _"_ _That makes one of us."_

* * *

The buzzer rang and I was hard-pressed to answer it. Why at this time of day? It was like 6 am.

Clad in my white undershirt and sweatpants, I padded towards the door.

"May I help you?" I said in a tone that suggested I wanted to do anything but.

Needless to say I did not expect to see Yusei at the front door. I blinked, surprised and I watched as his eyes travelled down to my feet and then back up to my eyes. And here I had thought that Yusei was the subtle type.

How was I supposed to react in this sort of situation?

I was decent enough, but why did I feel slightly embarrassed under his gaze?

"What are you doing here?"

And how did he even get in?

"The Fortune Cup is today," he said simply, expectant.

I almost face-palmed. How had I forgotten about that? I mean, the weeks leading up to the Fortune Cup, it was all I could think about.

Typical.

I pretended not to see the ends of Yusei's lips twitch upwards as most likely figured out that we had forgotten. I had been more than a little upset with the twins last night as well as drained from what I shall now refer to as 'The Episode', so the Fortune Cup hadn't any immediate importance at the time.

"Yanagi and Himuro are waiting for us outside. We'll wait." I nodded my head in thanks and Yusei turned to head towards the elevator.

"Lua, Luca wake up!" I announced. "Today's the Fortune Cup!"

Silence.

"Eeeeeeh?!" Thumps and crashes followed. Lua was up.

"Ugh, be quiet Lua." And so was Luca.

"How are you guys going to get to the Kaiba Dome?" I asked as the twins and I finally arrived outside of the Tops residential area.

"Well the four us can catch a cab," Himuro said, "The two of you can ride your D-wheels."

"Uum," I voiced uncertainly. Leaving the twins with two males whom were ex-detention centre residents didn't seem like a good move. Funnily enough, I hadn't questioned the instant camaraderie when I had been on the outside looking in.

A hand resting on my shoulder had me looking at Yusei. "They'll be fine," he reassured.

I almost snorted. The only difference between them and Yusei is that we'd met Yusei just a little bit sooner. I nodded in affirmation regardless though.

I chalked it up as one of those situations in which the main character of the story just inspires hope and trust in all that he came in contact with. What an effect to have though.

Yusei and I waited until the taxi came to pick up the Yanagi, Himuro and the twins.

As the taxi drove off, we each got on our bikes.

I gripped my D-wheel's handle bars and revved the throttle. The sound of Yusei's D-wheel's engine roaring to life startled me a bit (I wasn't used to riding alongside other D-wheels).

I let out a delighted laugh as I revved my runner's engine yet again. I looked over to Yusei, whose smile had a competitiveness that I felt I mirrored. I admit that there was just something about D-wheels that ignited some kind of fire from within.

"Race?" he inquired.

I smirked and sped off. I'd make use of every opportunity that presented itself.

.

.

.

I couldn't afford to be left behind.

* * *

Word count: 3286

A/N: A shorter chapter than last time. I really enjoy exploring different characters' POV though. Next chapter is the Fortune Cup. I'm thinking of doing an omake about the conversation that happened between Luca and Skylar, just imagining it makes me chuckle.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed/viewed/favourited/followed!

Constructive criticism/comments/questions/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

U.P.: Sign Out


	12. Chapter 12

I do not own Yugioh!5D's

Chapter 12- Resolve

 _-To make our way, we must have firm resolve, persistence, tenacity. We must gear ourselves to work hard all the way. We can never let up-_ Ralph Bunche

* * *

I didn't wear make-up and neither did Luca. So it stands to question –

Where did Lua get make-up from?

"Couldn't ya help him in the application process Missy?" Yanagi whispered as Lua practiced being Luca. I gave him a…'D' for effort really. Luca never acted so ridiculous.

"I don't wear make-up," I shrugged. We were now within the Kaiba er – Memorial Circuit, Point-Dexter had met up with us at the entrance.

I smiled as Luca berated her older brother on his acting skills (or lack thereof).

"Nii-san, Yusei shall we depart," Lua said walking up to us, swaying hips a bit too wide for it to be considered natural.

"No one walks like that," I announced, really wondering about where he got his portrayal of girls from. Neither I nor Luca acted like he was acting.

"Lua, it's better if you drop the make-up," Yusei added as the three of us parted from the group.

A member of the production crew (or something like that) found and directed us towards a dimly lit room. If my general bearing were correct then that meant that this room was no doubt beneath the central podium of the stadium, which meant the platform at the center of the room could no doubt be raised.

As the Fortune Cup guy directed us to stand on the lowered platform, I hesitated. There was just so much noise. There was a massive crowd, thousands of people, waiting for a show. I could hear the thundering noise their collective movement brought about, the excited and noisy chatter.

The proverbial cold feet was starting to set in. Which was ironic seeing as my palms were getting sweatier by the second. I took a deep breath and stepped onto the platform, taking up the space between Lua and…this dude in a cloak.

I…did my best not to stare but I will admit that most of the occupants donned some interesting clothing.

I spied blood red hair out of the corner of my eye and I knew who it was. I really hoped that I didn't have to duel her right off the bat…or Yusei…or Lua.

How would all this pan out? I had taken the place of someone, that was for sure. I didn't remember who it was though, nor his/her importance in the whole Fortune Cup.

…Oh well?

"We'll give it our all, right Nii-san?"

I looked down at Lua, who was looking up to me. I smiled wryly knowing that that wasn't just in the literal sense either.

"Nothing less," I nodded in conformation. I was nowhere near as confident as I sounded. I gazed towards Yusei, who was on the other side of Lua. He had his head up and his shoulders squared, confident and sure of the goal he wanted to attain.

I didn't have much of a reason other than to keep the twins safe as best as I could. Yusei though…

…definitely had something to fight for – Which was one of the reasons that I didn't want to go up against him. Because…I've already lost to him.

Against his resolve, mine didn't measure up.

* * *

His friends took priority. Always.

That's why he would endure, especially if it meant that he'd keep them safe. He was in this Fortune Cup to fight against the people behind the event. The ones that put his friends in danger.

That was why no matter how loudly the crowd spoke up against him, he'd bear it. He'd bear it and let his actions and dueling speak for him.

"Yusei," Lua mumbled looking at him worriedly.

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Skylar gazed unto the crowd with a sneer.

Yusei's lips quirked up in a small smile at their reactions.

Yusei, not for the first time, marvelled at the unique set of friends he had found upon his venture in New Domino City. It proved that no matter where you went and more importantly no matter where you were from, bonds could form between the unlikeliest of persons.

Old Man Yanagi, Himuro, Saiga, Lua, Luca, Skylar – they were the proof.

And that in itself gave him both faith and strength.

Friendship was something worth believing in and it was something worth fighting for.

* * *

I watched the crowd around me, slightly disgusted but I had expected it all the same.

Discrimination – the same as it was in any world. And it wasn't just for persons within or from the Satellite. Once you were branded, once you were marked, it was as if you were an outcast to the society around you.

To most of the people in the stadium, Yusei must appear to be a blemish within the Nirvana that was New Domino City.

But New Domino City was only a Nirvana at the surface if at all.

Nirvana was Bliss. In Bliss there was equality. Where was the equality here?

To be fair I've seen and heard of various 'Equality Campaigns'- most geared towards the liberation of the people of the Satellite (It really did seem like a modernized version of slavery) or the reconnecting of the Satellite to New DC.

The different campaigns had their support but in the end, bore little to no fruit. I believe that it was a result of two things- persons didn't deem such moves as profitable and enough people just didn't seem to care.

Apathy was a really scary concept.

 _Bomber's_ speech did little to move me and I wasn't about to get on board of Goodwin's sugar coated politically correct merry-go-round. I would give him this though – he spoke the truth in regards to the dueling field being where equality rested. It wasn't perfect but it was likely to be where you'd find the most equality (and wasn't that a bit sad in itself).

With that said, I was happy that the Announcer Guy finally got things moving along, even if I was paying more attention to his hair than what he was saying. Seriously though, I felt like taking some garden clippers and just snipping it off.

I watched as pictures flitted across the screen for a few seconds before they finally stopped, all paired up.

Lua was up first against _Bomber_ , and he was excited about it. Poor Luca must have been cringing in her seat in the audience. Lua looked absolutely ridiculous, his gesticulation wild and his speech erratic when he was excited (He was adorable really).

Then it was _Aki_ (…There was no use in complaining about the names anymore really…) against Gill de Lancebow (...there were honestly no words), followed by Yusei against whoever Shira was and I was up last against…Professor Frank.

Honestly the guy seemed pretty plain, but I knew that things were never as they seemed.

* * *

The waiting area for those who were yet to duel was pretty spacious. It had two long tables, each surrounded by chairs as well as three sets of two moderately comfortable couches, which were positioned so as to have one in front of the other, a coffee table being what separated the them.

On the wall at one end of the room, which was closest to the entrance, was a giant screen which was of course, provided for our viewing pleasure.

They had us all in one room, but it was big enough, just in case we saw it fit to give the other competitors a big enough space while we prepped for a duel.

Lua had already left for his duel with Bomber. Before he had left though, after turning to Yusei and promising to not duel selfishly, he looked to me for the final word.

Gold-green irises shone with nothing but determination, they held nothing but resolve.

"Lua," I called his name (because I was honestly going for that cool final word sort of thing that would make him all pumped). "Show me your Duelist's Resolve."

Lua nodded resolutely. "Alright! I'm off!"

I smiled as I watched him run out.

"Duelist's Resolve?"

I looked over at Yusei who was sitting beside me and nodded.

"Why do you duel? What's the reason? Do you have something to prove? Do you have someone or something to protect? What feelings will your duel convey to your opponent? What feelings will it convey to those looking on?"

My eyes glazed over as I recalled that particular duel I had with Yukio.

"Never give up, believe in yourself, trust in your cards– That's what I was taught about Duelist's Resolve."

I was trying my best to not get into the monologue habit. Internal monologues were okay though.

That was what I had gotten from my duel with Yukio that time. I figured out how (why?) I dueled. I didn't duel for the thrill (although the thrill was awesome). I dueled out of necessity. This time round it was to protect the twins.

…At least that's what I feel better believing. I'd like to believe that my motive is pure, really.

"Skylar?"

I had probably zoned out again and missed whatever he had said.

"Lua's duel is starting," I said instead and directed my attention to the screen.

* * *

All the world was watching. All eyes were on him.

Was this what the King Jack Atlas went through whenever he dueled in front of crowds all the time?

Lua was nervous, but he was a million times more excited.

The crowd around him was thunderous and alive. The energy that rolled off of them in waves resonated within the very core of his being. It made him pumped.

It was an exhilarated feeling.

This was the feeling that he liked.

This was the feeling that he wanted every day.

If he became King himself then he could have what he liked, he could have what he wanted.

Yeah, he had a feeling that he'd always thrive in these kinds of environments.

Lua wasn't going to panic and he definitely wouldn't be backing down. Even now when he only had a little over half his life points left.

He had promised Yusei that he wouldn't duel selfishly. He had promised his Nii-san that he'd show his Duelist's Resolve.

He'd trust in his cards and he wouldn't give up no matter what.

* * *

I never understood why some duelists reacted the way they did in duels.

Often times I couldn't help but snort- the theatrics of duelists were nothing if not entertaining. Did they really have to pose every time they drew a card? Did they have to name the attacks of their monsters during the battle phases? Was it all necessary?

I could understand why they acted surprised at certain cards' effects. If you weren't that versed on the various cards, it'd be easy to be caught off guard by them. It wasn't the same as in the Video games, where you could always take the time in the duel to check on the effects of all the cards on the field.

You had to stay sharp and well versed. You had to think on your feet. And that was when you _weren't_ driving at the speed of a race car.

Now with all that said, I would rather classify the frustrated yell Lua let out when Bomber's monster, his Giant Bomber Air Raid (Why couldn't it have been a shorter name?), that it was just that, a yell of frustration (and probably disappointment) and not the result of some phantom pain he felt upon his (hologram) monster being destroyed by Bomber's (hologram) monster and shattering into a million pieces.

It wasn't like he was facing Akiza.

...Or perhaps I was downplaying it too much...?

I rose from the couch and began to head out of the room, Yusei following in like, an unspoken agreement to go and meet Lua on his way down from the dueling arena.

He probably needed some cheering up.

* * *

There was a fifteen minute interval scheduled before the next duel. Lua had used this time to switch into his regular clothing and Luca had abandoned the coat and hat she had donned initially.

Yusei and I waited in the corridor nearest to the bathrooms. Lua, Luca and Dexter all stood in front of the bathrooms and I decided to let Luca be the first to comfort her brother.

We didn't have a long wait, as soon enough, their footsteps as they made their way in our direction sounded. I smiled encouragingly when Lua spotted us. His shoulders were slumped and he looked the part of a sad puppy.

Cute.

"All you need to do is win your duels later on. The experience you got form losing will always prove useful."

And there was the daily dose of Wisdom courtesy of Yusei Fudo. He should write little motivation cards and hand them out.

"You tried your best," I nodded in recognition of his effort.

He sighed a bit forlornly before perking up and clenching his fist. "You guys don't lose either! We'll be cheering you on from the stands!"

I smiled. I've said it already, the boy bounces back quickly.

The click of heels caused me to turn my head away from Lua. I stiffened at the sight that greeted me. My weariness is possibly illogical because I know what I know. Nonetheless, regardless of who Akiza would become, at this moment in time she was volatile and thus by dangerous.

I had no issues in stepping aside as she strode by us without so much as a word to any of us, her face hostile. The very aura around her seemed to shout 'Leave me Alone!'

 _'_ _Wait, 'alone'?'_

I sharply turned my back to everyone, clutching my mark, which was hidden beneath my jacket sleeve as it faintly pulsed upon her passing.

 _'_ _Alone…'_

That had been her no doubt.

"Nii-san?"

My head shot round a bit jerkily and I stared surprised at everyone. When had they turned their attention to me?

"Are you alright?" I asked Luca, ignoring the unasked 'What's wrong?'. I had heard that she had a headache earlier.

She nodded. "If it happens again, have someone take you to the infirmary."

She nodded once more this time more hesitantly.

I wasn't satisfied by the response, but I also wanted to start moving, anything to deter Yusei's contemplating glance.

The roars of the crowd signalled the beginning of the next duel. "Let's head off."

I didn't wait for a reply as I made my way back to the Competitors' Room.

* * *

Rex Goodwin stared at the video feed projected, his arms folded. He watched as the girl, Skylar Kameyo, hurriedly made her way back to the room he provided for the Fortune Cup Competitors.

He unfolded his arms and reached for the remote on the small table beside him. With the press of a button the feed from the hallway switched to the one in the CR.

He watched as she entered the room and made her way over to the coffee machine. Here, Goodwin paused to reach for his own beverage. In his opinion, tea was much more soothing than coffee.

As he took a sip, he noted that when she sat down she once again held unto her right arm. His eyes narrowed.

He knew that he was in search of the three other Signers. Of the four competitors whom were not employees of his, she was the least likely to be a Signer.

She was an anomaly.

He switched the video feed once more. The duel between the Black Rose Witch and Lancebow was well under way.

He placed his tea cup down. He mused. He had set up this competition for the sake of gathering the Signers.

It would seem as if he had caught a Disciple of the Dragon Star as well.

* * *

Aki was efficient.

And ruthless.

I watched as the Knight fell to the Black Rose Dragon's attack. I took a deep breath even as I resisted clutching my right arm. During the latter part of the burning sensation had increased, but it was tolerable. Fortunately my mark hadn't begun to radiate.

Which would have proved a problem seeing as Bomber had taken it upon himself to join the company of both Yusei and I.

Yusei.

I wasn't sure if he noticed it, but he had yet to release the hold he held on his right arm. I knew his mark was reacting to Akiza. The chances are that Luca's and Jack's were as well. This was why I resisted holding onto my arm, I couldn't afford to give myself away.

Not to Bomber who was no doubt on Goodwin's payroll.

Nor to Yusei. I needed him to stay blind for a while longer.

* * *

Intermission came and went. Then just like that it was time for Yusei's duel. Then it was my turn.

I would have preferred to be in the stands with the twins and the others instead of sitting in this awkward (on my part) silence with Bomber. Aki had not returned to the room. My best bet was that she already left for the day and I was thankful for that.

"Are you worried for your friend?" After watching the duel in silence, Bomber decided to speak up. Yusei's life points were down to 400.

"No," I stated simply. "He'll win."

Bomber said nothing, merely going back to watching the duel.

Moments later Yusei won. I had to hand it to the Mukuro guy though. It took guts to take the place of another competitor the way that he did. He also had the skill to back it up, but since his opponent was Yusei, he had to lose.

'Would that be the same if Yusei and I dueled each other?'

I shook my head. I had to make it past the first round.

"Well he won just like you said."

I didn't answer him, instead choosing to rise from my seat.

I had a duel in fifteen minutes.

* * *

 ** _Lub-dub, Lub-dub, Lub-dub._**

The pounding in my ears, the churning feeling in my stomach, the sweaty feeling in my palms.

I was in super great condition going into this duel.

I sighed as I went through my cards in an attempt to soothe my frayed nerves.

My deck specialty was Spellcaster/Spell Counter. I dubbed it the 'Heart Deck', because truly the cards that made up my deck were near and dear to me. A handful of them were given to me by my friends back in Casper City. The years had gone by and even though new cards came out…well 'new and improved' just couldn't replace 'faith'. My friends believe in me and I carried their hearts with me always.

Tragically sentimental, I know.

I had seven over the minimum required for a standard deck and the Monster: Trap: Spell card ratio wasn't even in the least, but it had worked for me.

I attached my duel disk, which was the metallic black version of the standard model with emerald coloured gems courtesy of Yuuto-sensei, and placed my deck carefully within it. My duel started in less than 10 minutes.

On my way to the Duel Arena, I met up with Yusei, who was no doubt heading back to the CR. We paused for a moment.

"That was a good duel," I complimented. I needed something to say.

"Thanks," he said nodding. "Good luck in your duel."

"Thanks." The words fell from my lips and I internally cringed at how automatic it sounded.

We stood there for a while, not saying anything. I was subject to Yusei's unwavering stare yet again. I didn't know what he wanted, but I knew that he did want something.

But what?

I finally made to leave when Yusei suddenly grasped my arm. My right arm.

Similarly to the other time when our right arms came in contact, my mark began to burn.

I did my best not to let my surprise show. I peered at Yusei to see him staring at his arm.

"When your duel is over," he began, blue irises locked with mine, "Can you tell me what you know about the Crimson Dragon?"

.

.

.

.

I've already lost to him.

Against his resolve, mine doesn't measure up.

* * *

Word count: 3358

* * *

Omake- Hair

"His hair is unbelievable," I decided to announce.

Yusei looked at the Announcer Guy, seeming to seriously consider my statement.

"Ah," he made a sound of agreement after a few moments.

"Yours too," I pointed out glancing at the spikes that went both up and down. Yusei ran a hand through his hair and by the way it shifted under his touch, I knew that that was how it was naturally (his hair didn't have any gel in it).

"It's like a sea-urchin."

I waited for a moment before Yusei finally stopped tussling his hair. He gave a small smile, probably agreeing with my assessment.

I also waited for him to comment on my hair. He didn't.

"Aren't you going to comment on my hair?"

I vaguely remember plaiting my hair a lot in my first life. Now it was a bit of a mess, but it somehow just…worked for me I suppose (Thank you Anime gods). But I did enjoy plaiting and just generally playing around in the twins' hair.

"Girls should be complimented," was his eventual and simple answer.

My brows furrowed and my eyes narrowed.

…Was he saying that there was nothing good to say about my hair?

* * *

A/N: MC's hair is really something- I really couldn't resist. The Omake was supposed to be a bit longer but...meh.

So Skylar's deck is as stated Spell-caster/Spell counter. Question- would you like to see her duel with Professor Frank?

I'll give more info on the Disciple of the Dragon Star concept I'm going with in the next chapter. Though I may not be updating for a while.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed/viewed/favourited/followed!

Constructive criticism/comments/questions/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

U.P.: Sign Out


	13. Chapter 13

I do not own Yugioh!5D's

Chapter 13- Worth It

\- _You are confined only by the walls you build yourself_ \- Andrew Murphy

* * *

He supposed it wasn't fair of him – to put Skylar in such a position right before her duel. She had already looked nervous enough. He had meant to tell her that he'd be cheering for her and repeat the same words she had said to Lua (Yusei assumed that she was the type to give good advice but fail to follow it herself), but then the words that he had said slipped out.

It had been something that he had been mulling over since yesterday – the connection that she, Jack, Lua, Aki and he had.

He had a lot of other things on his mind as well, but when he had held onto her right arm, a warm pulse travelled throughout his body and it originated from where the mark on his arm was.

The mark had reacted and hence forth he had reacted. Which was rare since he wasn't the type to act on impulse.

He was 75 percent sure in his assumption that she knew about the Crimson Dragon. She had gone to great lengths to not react during Aki's duel. He was even surer that Aki and her…powers were also the reason Skylar had collapsed the day before. Why else did she stiffen whenever Aki was near or move to clutch her right arm before stopping herself?

Not only that but Skylar always stared at him, always seeming as if she wanted to confess something, but she never did. Instead, she would get this far off look in her eyes before either of twins snapped her back to reality.

Another thing that he didn't think that Skylar noticed, is that when she stared at him, her eyes would focus on his right arm ever so often.

She knew about his mark. She, herself had a mark and had been doing her best to hide that fact from him and most likely the twins as well.

He had his assumptions about this entire competition as well. One of them being that they were all fish in a net and Goodwin had been the one to cast the line.

Hmmm.

Either way he needed answers. Besides, maybe now that he showed her that he knew she knew something, she wouldn't feel so pressured. Maybe she'd take him up on the opportunity to talk.

Maybe then she'd stop appearing as if she carried the weight on the world on her shoulders.

* * *

My footsteps were leaden as I made my way towards the dueling field.

I had been nervous enough as it was going into the duel. This was going to be my first ever televised duel.

Why did Yusei have to add to the pressure? My knees had already been buckling.

 _'Jerk.'_

I probably would have continued to curse Yusei in my mind had it not been for the thunderous sound that arose from the crowd.

I was just about at the duel field. All I had to do was climb the staircase upwards. I lightly nibbled on my lower lip.

"Come on Skylar. Let's go."

I took in a large breathe.

I began my ascent.

* * *

The noise within the stadium seemingly increased tenfold as I arrived on the dueling field. I knew that it wasn't as loud as it would have been if I was someone more recognized, but it was still pretty loud.

A sea of indistinguishable faces surrounded me, their bodies adorned with colours that shifted. The ground I stood on, heck the very air around me thrummed with some unseen energy.

The atmosphere was simply…electric.

I flexed my fingers as an unbidden smile broke across my face and my eyes roved all around me soaking in as much as I could.

" ** _Ladies and Gentlemen – the sight of a duellist stepping onto the big stage for the first time. Please Welcome Kameyo Skylar_**!"

Uh, what?

I blinked, coming back to the reality. I turned my head to the side to stare up at where Announcer Guy was seated. I didn't quite see him but I did see my confused face on the large overhead screen staring back at me.

I looked away and covered the top part of my face as my cheeks warmed.

I might as well have walked out with a shirt that was marked 'Newbie'.

"COME ON NII-SAN!"

My head snapped up and I looked over to where the noise was coming from. That was Lua's voice for sure. But he didn't have that big a voice.

I didn't have to strain my eyes to see him, because the camera within the audience had found where the voice had come from.

My brows furrowed.

…Where did he get the bull horn?

On screen was Lua holding a bull horn in his right hand. Luca and the rest of our mismatched group were turned away, their ears covered.

"YOU CAN DO IT NII-SAN!" he yelled through the bull horn.

My lips quivered before I broke out into snickers. Lua had this way about him – at times he just did some extravagant things make people forget what they're worrying about and just fill them with this sense of…security….or something like that.

One thing was for sure though he really was one of a kind.

I was feeling decidedly better about…everything.

That is, until a honeyed voice spoke up. "Sa, what an energetic boy."

My body tensed as I turned and looked at the person who was no doubt my opponent.

He seemed…like a plain man really – like I first thought.

But it was the stare that I was pinned with – something swam beneath those dull brown pools – and the light tilt of his lips that gave me pause.

"Shall we begin our duel?"

There was something off about this man.

I nodded stiffly, activating my duel disk with a practiced ease as he did the same.

The crowd's cheering renewed.

* * *

I was not happy.

" ** _Well there you have it ladies and gentlemen_**!" Announcer Guy said jumping out of his seat. " ** _The winner of the final duel of the first round! Product of the Casper City Duel Academy! The Spellcaster Master_**!"

Ugh. Just get on with it.

" _ **Kameyo Skylar**_!"

The crowd's cheers meant nothing to me.

Nothing.

They were not important.

Apparently just as Goodwin and his cronies had considered me. The Creepy Professor had thrown the match.

I'd been nervous to duel in the first place, not wanting to throw off the canon, so that my knowledge of the future to come could remain valid (that was the safest course of action), but who wants to be treated as if they were someone who wasn't even worthy enough to try to be won against?

The duel left me more unsatisfied than upset.

It was the calm way that he dueled the entire time. I didn't remember every single detail, but I knew that this guy had gone manic during his duel with Luca.

…Wait, his duel with Luca.

How had that come about again?

" _ **Everybody! Don't leave just yet folks cuz have an emergency on our hands! Event sponsor Goodwin has just made a surprising proposition**_!"

This couldn't be good. I hadn't even made it back to the CR yet.

" ** _All you losers who were regrettably defeated in the first round, are you listening to this?! It's been determined that we will now be holding a consolation game_**!"

I scowled, already knowing who was going to face whom, but would I be able to just sit back and watch?

 _'Probably'_.

For more reasons than one, it pained me to admit that.

* * *

What's in a promise?

Trust. Hope.

What does it take to keep a promise?

Strength. Courage.

What do you do when you have neither?

That was the position that Luca was currently in. She was in a dark and desolate place – that was not initially so. According to Ancient Fairy Dragon, the greedy intentions of the 'Evil Ones' had wrought the Spirit World (at least this part of it) into its present conditions.

And Ancient Fairy Dragon was looking to her to make good on a promise that she made eight years ago. But she remembered why she had run away all those years ago. Because she hadn't been brave enough or strong enough. She still thought she wasn't.

She couldn't protect an entire world by herself.

But apparently, she didn't have to.

Lua. Lua, who had been a part of her excuse to leave all those years ago, somehow he was there with her in the Spirit World.

And, he didn't want her to leave this time.

Lua had said that he wanted to be as strong as Yusei. She did as well. Lua had said that he wanted to be as fearless as Nii-san. She did as well.

Lua told her that he'd protect her and that she had to protect the Spirit World. He didn't want her to run away again. He wanted her to keep her promise.

More importantly, he was going to help her keep her promise.

Saying that he'd protect her as she protected the Spirit World, by extension that meant that he was protecting the Spirit World as well.

So she wasn't alone.

Lua believed in her. Ancient Fairy Dragon believed in her. Kuribbon believed in her. Knowing that now, actually hearing and seeing the faith that they all had in her. If it was for them, she would do her best to do as she promised.

She would…She would protect this world. The world that was once only filled with life and hope. She'd protect it.

* * *

It wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be.

I mean, I only watched and did nothing as The Creepy Professor duelled against Luca in an attempt to draw out her power by invading the confines of her mind to destroy a world where the spirits of the very duel monsters this world used lived.

No big deal. If one could classify Child Endangerment as such.

Or was I just taking things too seriously? Was I being overprotective?

Hmmm. Years of trying to not get emotionally invested are all for nought.

"I would have thought that you'd be the one out there, seeing as she's your ward."

I was in the CR and so was Bomber. Up until a few minutes ago, so was Yusei. I had yet to say anything as it regarded the Crimson Dragon and he hadn't asked. We both realized that it hadn't been the time or the place.

"You thought wrong," I answered as I watched Yusei catch a falling Luca. I chose not to question how he knew that I was currently Luca's caretaker seeing as it wasn't public knowledge or something that was broadcasted. Wouldn't want him to know that I was on to him.

The video feed on the screen before us cut to a commercial. I heard a weary sigh.

"I too have had to sit by and watch, unable to offer aid to my loved ones."

My eyes snapped towards Bomber and I frowned uncertainly at him. His voice had sounded heavy and his shoulders sagged.

I would ask why he seemed so familiar, except I already knew the answer. That was how I looked at times. As if I carried a weight that was thrust upon me – that was too much to bare. But I only allowed myself to be in that state when I was sure no one was around. Which begged to question? Why did Bomber let down his guard around me?

' _Regardless…his words hit close to home_.'

But it wasn't that I was unable to. I could, but I chose not to. I had a choice, but apparently Bomber didn't.

….And now I felt guiltier. Awesome.

"I sense that we're both cut from the same cloth. I also have a mission to carry out." Bomber rose to his feet and I did the same.

" ** _Everybody, Listen_**!" The picture of the AG came onto the screen. " ** _This concludes the heated first day of the tournament! And these will be your match-ups for tomorrow's semi-finals_**!"

My hands tightened into fists as I stared at the screen. So it ended up being that way huh?

A contemplative hum brought my attention to back to Bomber. "It would seem as if we have quite the duel ahead of us."

I returned my gaze to the screen. I bit my bottom lip as I gazed at Aki's picture beside mine.

"You have no idea."

* * *

And the guilt continues to pile on.

I had been stopped by the doctor that was hired for the Fortune Cup. Lua had been taken to the infirmary during Luca's duel. The doctor had been kind enough to prescribe some vitamins for him, to prevent future fainting spells, but hadn't remember to give it to the persons that had carried him to the infirmary (most likely Dexter, Yanagi and Himuro) before they all left.

I was on my way to the trailer that was provided for us, to pick up my D-wheel. I decided to wait for the others at the front. At least that way I had more time to compose myself.

When I collected my runner and was on my way out, I noticed a certain green-haired boy sneaking around the trailers, actually one trailer in particular.

"Lua!" I barked at him. Would this boy never cease looking for trouble?

He jumped in surprise before he turned in my direction. I went up to him.

My throat tightened upon realizing just whose trailer he was snooping around.

The letters were big and bold –

' **AKI** '

My muscles stiffened and I felt my temper bubble to the surface instantly.

I held onto his arm and pulled him away from the trailer and towards mine.

"What were you doing sneaking around that trailer?!" I yelled letting go of his hand and turning to face him. "How many times are you going to put yourself in danger?!"

Lua who had been frozen up until now, went to defend himself. "But, I –"

I wasn't giving him a chance though.

"Wasn't almost being blown away yesterday enough for you?!" Also something I could have prevented. I could have also stopped him from coming here today as well. I shouldn't have gone along with his stupid plan to disguise himself as Luca.

"It wasn't a stupid plan!" Lua retorted.

I frowned, apparently having said that bit out loud.

"Yes it was. You always come up with reckless ideas and then carry them out without a single thought." I gave him a hard stare.

Lua stared back equally as hard.

"No, I don't."

I repeated my earlier question. "Then why were you hanging around that trailer?"

Lua folded his arms and looked away from me. "Nothing," he answered petulantly.

My ire went up a notch. "Fine. You're grounded until further notice."

"But the Fortune Cup still isn't over!" he exclaimed.

"That shouldn't matter to you." I was being a bit mean, I knew that but, if I kept Lua away, then I wouldn't have to worry about him as much.

Lua had gone quiet. His head was lowered, his arms were at his sides, fists clenched, his small frame trembling.

Suddenly his head snapped up and he glared at me (he glared at _me_ ), tears at the corners of his eyes. "You can't ground me, you're not my parents!"

I almost physically recoiled at his words.

"Lua!" a voice to our right snapped. I turned my head to see Yusei, Luca and the others. Yusei had been the one to call to him in sharp reprimand.

I wondered when they'd gotten there.

"It's fine," I said turning my attention back to Lua. "I may not be your parents but I'm the one that's here."

Lua didn't hesitate to reply. "I wish you weren't!"

My eyes widened in surprise. I genuinely didn't expect that.

"Lua!" I really didn't care whose voices those were.

I exhaled slowly if only to relieve the squeezing feeling in my chest. It didn't work. I needed some space.

I turned sharply and strode purposefully to where my D-wheel was, throwing on my helmet and mounting the bike.

"Skylar, wait!"

I turned and gave Yusei a weak smile. "Please, take them home for me. I'll be back later."

I didn't wait for a response.

* * *

"Nii-san's not back yet," Luca spoke worriedly as she moved around the food on her plate, not really having much of an appetite. It was almost 9 pm and they still hadn't heard from Nii-san.

Lua wouldn't admit it but he was worried as well. He hadn't touched his food either and she had prepared his favourite hamburger and everything too.

"If you hadn't said those things Nii-san would be here right now," Luca snapped her brother.

It was testament to the fact that he was feeling guilty that his only reply was a mumbled, "Whatever."

"Luca, that's enough," Yusei spoke. He hadn't felt comfortable leaving them alone, at least not until Skylar was back, which she wasn't. He hadn't eaten yet either and he kept on looking at the clock.

If Nii-san was here she'd have a fit over them not eating. She hated it when they wasted food.

Yusei got up from around the table. "I'm going to look for her. Do you know where she might be?"

"She's probably at the park," Luca announced rising as well. "I'll come with you."

"No, you rest Luca."

"I'm feeling just fine now," she began.

"Skylar wouldn't want either of you out so late at night. Wait and rest up here."

Luca pouted as she sat back down.

"I'll be back."

"You'll bring back Nii-san right?" Lua's mumbled voice sounded.

Yusei smiled.

"Sure."

* * *

 _"I wish you weren't!"_

That had hurt more than I had expected.

I sighed as I threw my head back on the bench I sat on. New Domino City's main park was nice. It was bigger than the one in Casper City.

Hm, Casper City.

I wondered how everyone was doing.

The Old Man, Yuuto-sensei, Yukio, Mrs. Fukui, Yoshi, I even missed the Trouble Trio to an extent. My aunt too.

I definitely haven't been in touch with them as often as I should.

Instead I was here, playing a role that I didn't get a script to.

I had no right to ground Lua. I had done nothing to prevent him from getting into trouble in the first place. I hadn't been proactive so I had no right being so reactive.

I wasn't very consistent. I had allowed things to go as per cannon thus far, but now I was trying to interfere.

I sighed again. Maybe I should just forget about Canon events.

I raised my right arm towards the light coming from the street lamp and gazed at it.

"Did it hurt?"

I lowered my arm and sat upright. I really shouldn't be surprised but I was. I returned to my previous position on the bench as Yusei settled beside me.

"What Lua said or the mark on my arm?"

"Both."

I made a considering noise. "Yes, to both."

Neither of us said anything for a while.

"Lua was worried when he saw that you were facing Izayoi tomorrow," Yusei spoke calmly.

I had gathered as much.

"He still shouldn't have said what he had said though."

I knew that too and I won't make any excuses for him. I still found the gesture sweet though. I was also at fault. My anger wasn't justified, it was based off of the guilt I felt from putting the twins in harm's way as well as the fear that arose from the thought of them being in danger because of me.

"I don't want him or Luca to get hurt because of me," I admitted out loud. "They mean too much."

"They care about you as much as you care about them," Yusei pointed out.

It felt strange to hear such words of affirmation outside of my head. Strange but good.

I needed it. Maybe this was why I was entertaining this conversation with Yusei. Reincarnation or not – I was still human. I craved things all humans did.

I...hadn't had someone to just listen...at least not someone who wouldn't ask too many questions.

This was Yusei though – he was too smart, too observant for my own good.

...But maybe if what I told him things that were nonessential to the Canon...?

"I moved here from Casper City over two years ago. I left my friends there. I haven't seen or heard from any of them in a while."

That was actually something that bothered me.

Yusei was silent for a while, before he spoke, "I can relate."

I bit the bottom of my lip.

Maybe talking to Yusei wouldn't relieve any guilt I felt.

I could easily go and see or hear my friends via video chat. Yusei didn't have the luxury of that choice.

I exhaled as I straightened in my seating position. "Things are going to get difficult, even more so than they already are."

I was speaking to myself, mostly. I hadn't expected Yusei to say anything, but he did.

"Will I have my friends with me?"

I looked at him oddly. What a question to ask. I don't think he was thinking quite along the lines I was though. I could tell that he was thinking of a different set of persons, whom were probably being used as leverage against him.

I answered nonetheless. "Every step of the way."

Yusei considered my words briefly then looked at me evenly. "Then even though it won't be easy, it'll be worth it."

.

.

.

.

Was it weird that hearing him say that filled me with a measure of peace?

* * *

Word Count: 3617

A/N: Greetings. It has been awhile.

Skylar is experiencing what I have now dubbed - the Central Character Effect. Of course Yusei is the person she sorta spills out stuff to- he _is_ the main character- a lot of other people do it. I know it's slow going - but Sky is getting out of that 'stick to the canon' phase, though she won't be completely out of it.

This chapter took exceedingly long to write and it's a bit choppy. My apologies. In the end I decided against writing Sky's duel against The Professor. It really wasn't working out. As a quasi-apology, I'm updating twice today. So yeah this is update 1/2.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed/viewed/favourited/followed!

Constructive criticism/comments/questions/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

U.P.: Sign Out


	14. Chapter 14

I do not own Yugioh!5D's

Chapter 14- Broken and Thorny

\- _The sharp thorn often produces delicate roses-_ Ovid

* * *

Yusei couldn't help the way his lips quirked up at the sight before him. He had to admit it was nothing if not endearing.

Both Skylar and he had returned to the apartment only to see the twins fast asleep on the couch, the two having obviously waited for their return until they fell asleep.

The fond smile that graced his lips when he and Skylar put them to bed made him admit that even though it had only been a few days, he was very much attached to the twins.

He had ended up staying in a spare bedroom and when he had awoken, he had gone to check on the twins. He wasn't much of a mother hen, but Luca hadn't been herself for much of her duel the day before and Skylar had admitted that Lua had been in the infirmary for most of that duel as well.

Skylar knew about Luca's mark, if the rueful gaze that she directed towards Luca as she had tucked the small girl in was any indication. Lua didn't seem to know anything but he was connected to all that had happened somehow. The twins were involved.

He didn't like it. Not particularly.

But if any good was to come from all this, it'd be that they'd learn and grow. He had always viewed dueling as more than just playing with cards. It'd been a vital part of his development much like what was happening with the Twins.

But he digressed.

He had gone to check on the twins only to find that both their bedrooms were empty. So he went to the only other place that they could possibly be – Skylar's room.

He knocked the door softly and when he didn't receive an answer, opened the door to enter the room as quietly as he could.

The room was dim, the heavy drapes thinly parted to allow enough of the light for persons to make out the contents of the room and yet not rouse the occupants of the room from their slumber.

Aforementioned occupants were all sprawled onto the single bed in the room, resembling a tangled mess of limb and sheets.

Skylar, being the only occupant actually covered with the sheet (at least partly), was sprawled spread eagle in the center of the bed, her head resting on top of a mop of green hair which belonged to Lua, who was set in a similar position as Skylar, using her right arm as leverage. While he snored away Luca more or less spooned Skylar's left side, Skylar's arm thrown over the small girl's body.

The three made quite a sight and it didn't fail to remind him of similar days that he had with two particular persons. His brothers in all but blood. He reminisced, those were indeed blissful days.

Unlike what he foresaw today to be.

Today was the final day of the Fortune Cup after all.

* * *

It was kind of weird, being the only one in the CR. The feeling of being watched had never shown up so prominently 'til now.

At least the twins weren't here. Leaving them at home was a bold move on my part and though I couldn't say that I didn't care how the cannon was going to be affected, I could however say that I cared about the twin's safety a whole lot more in comparison.

My duel with Aki was coming up soon.

But for now, Yusei was dueling Bomber. As I watched I couldn't help the pang of jealousy that arose as I watched the two males duel. The proficiency that Bomber handled his monster-runner (It was almost twice the size of Yusei's own D-wheeler) with had me doubting my own skills on a D-wheel.

300 vs 3400 in Bomber's favour. Yusei had taken some serious damage to both his life points and he only had four Speed Counters left. I was on the edge of my seat, my eyes glued to the screen. The duel honestly had me holding my breath.

Would my Turbo duels have such an effect on persons that looked on?

I watched, delighted, as Yusei destroyed Bomber's Giant Bomber Air Raid but then cringed at Bomber's counter with the trap Chariot Pile (there was also the fact that spikes actually burst forth from the tire of his D-wheel). Fast pace duels always had the ability to really draw in their viewers. With that said though, there was definitely a lot more behind the way Bomber was dueling than pure adrenaline and the want to win.

Yusei still managed to make it to his next turn though and Synchro Summon Junk Warrior. It was too bad that Chariot Pile's additional effect allowed Bomber to negate Yusei's direct attack (at the cost of 800 LP's) and destroy the Synchro monster.

I wasn't worried however, because even though Yusei was down by 2300 LP's, he was the type to beat seemingly insurmountable odds. It was in his design and I meant that literally.

I looked on as Yusei won on his turn, his 'Destiny Draw' as Announcer Guy put it, but any excitement I felt was quelled when Bomber stood from his fallen runner and began to speak.

Usually, the patrons didn't get to hear whenever the duelists spoke to each other during a duel (aside from them declaring the name of cards played and such). That's where Announcer Guy came in. He did the play by play and the colour commentating (to be the only person for the job and for something as important as dueling, I had to give AG credit as it was due to him) and kept the live crowd and at home viewers connected to what was happening.

So when any other voice aside from the Official Voice of the Fortune Cup sounds throughout the entire stadium, it's safe to say that something is definitely wrong.

Bomber had that heavy sound to his voice once more. He sounded like a man who was pushed over the edge, but didn't die when he got to the bottom. Instead that man harnessed all of his hatred and desire for vengeance as he climbed his way back to the top.

Bomber was that man. That man was now at the top and he was ready to take action, no matter the consequences.

Bomber had been a Dark Signer.

I don't remember whether or not Goodwin had truly caused the destruction of the village like he said, but I wouldn't put it past Goodwin to do such a thing. Goodwin's own assassin turned against him. Violently.

What pain could a person be in to attempt to drive a monster-runner through the very room one stood in? I think it could have been classified as attempted murder. If Yusei hadn't interfered, I have no doubt that a single monstrous spike crashing through the glass pane would have been the last of Goodwin's trouble.

I wondered how Goodwin could have just acted like nothing had happened and how the crowd could just eat up his honey laden words, especially after hearing the anguished yell that Bomber let out.

Bomber had been defeated in more ways than one. He hadn't just lost the duel. He'd lost his home, his family, his friends and, as I glanced at the screen shot of Sector Security apprehending him, now his freedom.

Was it right for a human being to appear so broken?

* * *

"Lua, we're not supposed to be here," Luca whispered harshly to her twin as they both crouched down just outside the entrance to the Memorial Circuit.

"Brave up Luca," he replied. "We already missed Yusei's duel, we can't miss Nii-san's."

"But Nii-san said not to come."

"But she needs us," Lua answered, his voice clear and resolute. He got up and began to make his way closer to the entrance.

Luca clutched onto his sleeve, causing him to pause.

Before she could speak again, Lua interrupted her. "She's going up against the witch," he began, "The last person that the witch duelled, you saw what happened to him didn't you?"

Lua dragged his sleeve from his sister's grip and spun around to face her. "I can't just sit at home and watch. I have to be here to cheer her in person."

Luca felt her ire bubble to the surface, not liking how Lua's tone made it seem as if she didn't want to support their Nii-san, as if she wasn't worried.

Of course Luca was worried. That witch-lady made her right arm burn. But that was the entire reason why Nii-san had told them to stay home. Luca had always thought that Nii-san knew more than she had ever told them, more than she had ever told _her_.

Luca was waiting for an explanation, and what she had read from Skylar's body language was that she'd tell them at least something once this day was over. But until then, they were to stay away from the Dome.

Luca's lips pulled down in a small frown as she squared her shoulders and matched her twin's staunch gaze.

They were both at opposite ends yet again. But she wasn't about to back down. Not this time.

* * *

Snickers echoed throughout the room that served as the observation deck for none other than the King of Riding Duels himself, Jack Atlas.

The other occupants of the room were Goodwin, Mina, Jack's assistant and the source of the laughter Yeager.

"I was wondering where those two were," Yeager continued to snicker as he watched the camera feed from outside of the Memorial Circuit entrance. "It's seems to be quite the battle of wills," he commented as he watched two small twins glare at each other.

"It seems as if they haven't decided whether or not they want to watch the next duel," Goodwin commented lightly before his eyes narrowed. "Go and limit their options Yeager."

Yeager's snickers returned ten-fold, before he gave a small bow to his employer. "Of course, sir."

* * *

"Do you think it's a smart idea to let her duel that girl?" Himuro asked, his eyes fixed on the screen as the Announcer hyped the next duel. "She didn't seem too thrilled about the idea in the first place."

Yusei paused in tuning his D-wheel.

"No, but this was still something she had to do."

"Something she had to do?" Himuro raised his brow.

Yusei nodded before focusing his attention on his D-wheel once more. "We'll have to wait and see how it all turns out."

* * *

" ** _Alright, Everybody_**!" AG sounded over his microphone. It had been an hour since Yusei's duel with Bomber, Goodwin having extended the break to no doubt do further damage control.

" ** _It's time for the second match of the semi-finals and this duel promises to blow you away_**!"

More like it promises to blow _me_ away.

I heard the thunderous noise of the crowd and I took one last deep breath before the platform on which I stood rose into the spotlight that had been waiting for me on the field.

" ** _Presenting the self-proclaimed Spellcaster Master, Kameyo Skylar_**!"

I sweat-dropped as I did my best to keep a calm outward appearance. I had never called myself that.

But that was beside the point. I needed to focus on the duel at hand. Not at the Announcer's exaggerations, not at the fact that there were thousands of people watching me, not at the fact that my throat had gone dry and certainly not at the fact that I was now face to face with pre-friends Aki.

" ** _This aspiring duelist goes up against the person whose impact from the first round is still fresh in our minds – The Black Rose, Izayoi Aki_**!"

She was honestly a very beautiful girl. But her stony expression was enough to deter people from actually realizing that. Her destructive power definitely played a part in that as well.

She seemed almost doll-like. But that was what she was at the moment wasn't it? Indeed, she had been groomed and primed up and was now on display. She was being toyed with, she was being used.

Years of rejection from those around her, in addition to her psyche being preyed upon had left her in a doll-like state. Maybe 'Puppet' would be a better word.

She was dependent on the strings that held her up.

I looked around the stadium as jeers and derogatory comments sounded throughout the stadium. I glanced back at Aki, who had not once flinched.

Some may think that Aki was pretty strong to withstand all of it.

To me, well all I saw were taut strings holding her up.

"Duel!" Aki's voice startled me out and it was only then had I realized that AG had given the go ahead to start the duel.

I activated my duel disk, Aki having long since activated hers and drawing her cards. It didn't matter to me though – I didn't have time to dissect the synchronization that existed between duelists at the beginning of a duel, when they both activated the disks and announced the commencement of the duel.

"You can go first," I offered. I had won the coin toss and letting Aki go first wasn't the smartest idea because it stripped me of the advantage that came with going first, but going up against her in the first place wasn't smart period.

But that begged to question – Why was I even dueling her?

Yes, I was her opponent and if I had chickened out, I wouldn't have had the right to call myself a duelist (and I wouldn't be able to face Yusei or the twins), but why was I dueling her?

The twins weren't there. Yusei didn't need me defending him.

I had no particular attachment to the girl before me. In fact all she's ever done whenever she's seen me was glare.

Like now.

"I'll end this quickly," she stated apathetically.

 _Duel Start_

"I summon Violet Witch (1100/1200) in attack mode." I watched as the CGI seemingly sprung to life.

"I activate the Field Spell Black Garden." I had to give my props up to the Kaiba Company and how much they breathed life into that which is known of Duel Monsters (I would have loved to meet Seto Kaiba). The field looked like a real-life rose garden. It was creepy, but it was still life-like.

"I place two cards face down and end my turn."

I slightly rocked my head from side to side as I considered the cards that were on the field.

I glanced at the cards within my hand as I drew my first card.

Time to mount an offense.

"I activate a Field Spell of my own- Magical Citadel of Endymion."

" ** _And just like that Skylar gets rid of what is usually Aki's staple card_**!"

I watched as the field of roses and thorns and vines shattered to give way to my magical fortress.

"Next I summon Maiden of Macabre (1700/0) in face up attack position. I activate the magic card Spell Power Grasp which allows me to place a spell counter on any face-up card that I can place a spell counter on. I choose Maiden of Macabre."

" ** _And just like that Skylar's_** ** _Maiden of Macabre's_** ** _attack points increase to 1900! Why you ask? Well everybody, for every spell counter of the Maiden's card, it gains 200 attack point_**!"

"Maiden of Macabre, let's show everyone who the better witch is."

In the realm of dueling niceties, I had taken to addressing my monsters while in play.

It took all of three seconds for my monster to defeat Aki's monster. She hadn't even flinched as her monster was destroyed and her life points fell down.

Aki: 3200

Skylar: 4000

The crowd around us roared to life. I honestly didn't want to be cheered by them. They weren't cheering because they liked me (I was new to the duelist circuit, an unknown and if I had been up against someone more known than I was, they'd be cheering for that other person). They were cheering for me because I had inflicted damage to the 'witch'. My stomach turned a bit. Was this some kind of warped version of a witch hunt?

"I activate Violet Witch's special ability which allows me to add a plant type monster with a defence of 1500 or less from deck and into my hand."

I nodded before I spoke, "Because your monster was destroyed by my Maiden, she gains a spell counter and her attack increases by 200."

I ended my turn by placing a single card face down on the field.

" ** _What an incredible first turn by the Master of Casters herself! How will Aki respond_**?!"

Aki began her turn, by drawing a card from her deck.

"I summon Phoenixian Seed (800/0) to the field." This creepy seed-like monster with only one eye made its appearance on the field. "By releasing this monster card and sending it to the graveyard, I can summon Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis (2200/0) from my hand."

As she said she did and just like that, she had started with a monster of 800 attack points and now she had a monster with 2200 ATK.

"Attack Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis."

"I activate the trap Sakuretsu Armor."

" ** _Folks, Sakuretsu Armor is a common but effective trap that destroys the attacking opponent's monster. Which means that Aki's monster can no longer attack and is destroyed_**."

I wasn't out of trouble yet.

"When Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis is sent to the graveyard it inflicts 800 points of damage to my opponent."

I sunk to my knees and clutched my hands over my head, bracing for the damage I knew would come. And come it did. My body was pelleted as flaming petals rained down on my form. It was like getting paper cuts all over your body…and though it wasn't all that bad, it still hurt.

" ** _As expected, real damage was dealt to Aki's opponent_**!"

Aki: 3200

Skylar: 3200

"I can turn pain into power."

I frowned as I tried to ignore the dull pain I felt all over my body. I slowly rose to my feet. "You say that like it's a good thing. Is that all there is to your power? Is there only pain? Why would you want to have and use such a power?"

Aki's brows furrowed slightly.

"I came here for the persons that believe in me. I have a power that people need." She seemed so sure of herself. She seemed so sure that what she spoke was the truth. But it wasn't true.

For some reason, I felt my anger rise.

"Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis can be summoned from the graveyard in defence position if I discard a plant type monster from my graveyard." Sure enough, aforementioned card re-appeared to the field in defence position. "I place one card face down."

I frowned as I drew from my deck and began my turn.

"I summon Defender, the Magical Knight (1600/2000) in face-up attack position."

Suddenly the shouts from the audience got even louder.

"Take that witch down!"

"Put her in her place!"

"She doesn't belong here!"

I watched as Aki's fists clenched. I doubt that she noticed that she was doing that. "You can't say that it doesn't hurt."

"What are you talking about?" she snapped as she seemingly forcibly made herself uncurl her fists.

I threw my hands out, indicating to the crowd around us. "I know that they're words are hurting you. I know what it's like to be rejected when all you want is to be understood."

Memories of the past of another life flitted through my mind. They were dull and blurry, I couldn't make out any faces or voices, but the feelings that came in hand with them pulsed through my body.

You'll forget how people look, what they did, but how they made you feel – that you can't forget.

"Is power borne out of such a feeling what people need? Do you really believe that?"

"Be quiet!" I was actually pushed back a bit by the force behind her voice. Her glare increased a thousand-fold. "You don't know anything, so just continue with your turn so that I can end this duel."

I realized that I was pressing against a sleeping lion. I also felt as if I had just made this duel all the more dangerous for myself.

* * *

"~Momentum~!" Akutsu whooped as he spun his chair around and around. He paused to gaze at his D-sensor once more before hopping out of his chair and proceeded to spin by himself. "It's rising and rising!"

He just needed it to get a little higher before he notified Director Goodwin. Finally, too. All this waiting around had had him quite bored. But now that he was getting a response, watching his D-Sensor reading go higher and higher was so much fun.

Signer identity was almost confirmed. However, both ladies were giving of Momentum signals and he had only been expecting one (Aki Izayoi).

…Oh well, that was the Director's problem.

"~Mo-men-tum~!" Akutsu returned his attention to his D-sensor, which was a thousand times more fun than anything else he could be doing.

* * *

"Maiden of Macabre attack Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis," I commanded my monster.

Aki was prepared for me this time though. "I activate the Trap Card Rose Blizzard."

" ** _For those of you who don't know,_** ** _Rose Blizzard_** ** _not only negates the attack of a monster but it also changes that attacking monster in defence mode. With 0 defence points, Maiden of Macabre is now powerless."_**

It was a pity that I didn't have a card to counter her trap. Nonetheless – "Defender, finish what was started, destroy Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis."

I half expected for Aki to play one of the two other face down cards that she had but she hadn't.

I didn't have any trap cards to set and it wouldn't be wise to play my only other spell card that I held.

I ended my turn. Aki wasted no time in beginning hers.

"I activate the Permanent Trap Card Ivy Shackles." She activated one of her face-downs.

My brows furrowed at her play. What was she planning with making all my monsters plant type monsters on her turn?

She activated a card from her hand. "The Magic card, Magic Planter allows me to draw two cards as long as I send a Permanent Trap to the graveyard."

Ivy Shackles shattered and Aki drew two cards. I had a bad feeling as to where all this was going.

"One of the cards I drew was Fairy of the Rose (600/1200) and her special ability allows me to summon her directly to the field after adding her to my hand by a card effect."

The monster card was kind of cute.

"I summon Night-Rose Knight (1000/1000). When I normal summon this card, it allows me to summon a level 4 or lower plant type monster. Copy Plant (0/0) come forth."

The three monsters' level totalled to seven. She could synchro summon her Black Rose Dragon – at least she could have if two of the monsters on her field weren't tuner monsters.

I felt a bit relieved at that fact.

"Night-Rose attack her Maiden of Macabre."

"I activate Defender's effect. By removing one spell counter from the field, I can prevent a spellcaster from being destroyed."

Crisis averted – Not.

Aki revealed her second face-down card.

"I activate the Trap Urgent Tuning."

" ** _Folks, that means that Aki can summon a synchro monster using all the monsters she controls_**."

"Chilling flames engulf the entire world. Pitch-dark flower, set into bloom! Synchro Summon! Black Rose Dragon!"

A violent wind whipped around the stadium, black rose petals travelled with it. It was like a cyclone and at the very center stood Aki, a menacing scarlet aura emanating from her body. A trilling sound rang clearly throughout my ears and my arm began to burn again. I did my best not to claw at it. Luckily it hadn't began to glow through my gloves.

The imposing figure of her Black Rose Dragon loomed behind her, as if it were a slavering beast, waiting for the attack command from its master.

"I activate Black Rose Dragon's special ability," Aki announced. "By removing a plant type monster from my graveyard, I can reduce the attack points of one of my opponent's monster to 0."

Uh-oh.

"Black Rose Dragon, Rose Restriction!" I watched as thorny vines shoot from under the petal-like wings of her dragon, wrapping and draining the life from my Defender.

"Do you know what's next?"

Yes.

"Black Rose Attack!"

"I activate Defender's Effect! At the cost of a spell counter I can prevent it from being destroyed. And thanks to my field spell, even though my Defender has no spell counter, I can remove the counter from that card."

" ** _As per usual, Skylar has a Plan B, but can she survive the attack? We've seen what Aki's attack have done to past opponents_**!"

My Defender positioned itself in front of me, struggling against the thorny constraints. But it was useless, just as the pain that I was going to be in was inevitable. I did my best to brace for the attack.

It felt as if I was the target of a cyclone of rose thorns. I had no escape, no means of shielding myself except the degree of tangibility Kaiba Corp allowed the duel monsters during in duel simulations.

Aki's ability maxed that tangibility by 100-fold. Her monsters could touch and attack as any real-life monster would both in and out of duels.

It had always been a theory of mine, though fleeting. With that said I never once wanted to prove my theory. I presupposed that it would have been too painful for anyone to go through.

I was right.

It was unrelenting, unyielding, so much so that I was thrown backwards. And only when my back hit the ground did the pain come.

I wondered vaguely if this was the amount of pain I would have been in had I actually survived being hit by that bike. Regardless, it was a distant thought anyway.

Distant, like most things around me felt. All I heard were buzzing noises really. I imagined everyone in a frenzy. I imagined because all I could do was stare at the sky, even though my vision was all spotty.

 _'Maybe if I go to sleep for a while.'_

What had I been trying to accomplish with this duel? All I did was get ticked off, upset Aki and got hurt.

Maybe if I rested for a bit, then things would be clear.

 **…Sorry…**

 _'Hmm?'_

 **I..don't…want to…**

There was that voice again. Only this time my head was already hurting me.

 **…I can only…hurt people...**

 _'Aki…'_

It had been her at that time. The voice at that time belonged to her and this time, it was her voice as well. The voice belonged to the rose behind the thorns.

Hmmm.

As my vision faded, I couldn't help but feel that it was a pity that I couldn't finish the duel.

.

.

.

I would have honestly liked to see the true Aki come out.

* * *

Word count: 4533

* * *

Omake- Padding

Yusei stared at Skylar.

"What, are you wearing?"

Skylar looked as if she was playing a keeper in a hockey match, not as if she was going to a duel.

"Mmmh," was her mumbled reply.

"What?" he asked before his lips quirked in amusement at the sight of her trying to lift up the hockey mask. The large gloves she wore prevented her from getting a good grip on the mask.

"Mmmmm," she sounded, looking pleadingly towards him.

He decided to oblige her, walking towards her and lifting the mask up.

She smiled at him, or at least tried to, before she held out her hand and spat out…a mouth guard. She smiled once more, her mouth not looking as full as it had when she still had in the mouth guard, however saliva trailed from edge of her mouth and she didn't seem to notice.

He found his smile widening.

"You've got a little…" he motioned at his own face to give her an idea of where she needed to wipe.

"Oh," she said as she used the back of her wrist to wipe the edge of her mouth, her pale cheeks tinged pink. "Thanks."

He nodded before repeating his earlier question.

"Padding," she answered.

"Is that really necessary?"

"I'm dueling Aki," she said as if that explained everything.

It did.

He watched as she began to make her way towards the apartment door and then fall after five or so steps.

He chuckled as she tried futilely to get up.

"Too much padding?" she asked when she finally gave up.

"Too much padding."

* * *

A/N: Update 2/2.

And thus is Sky's duel with Aki. Opinions? Constructive Advice?

Thanks to everyone who reviewed/viewed/favourited/followed!

Constructive criticism/comments/questions/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

U.P.: Sign Out


	15. Chapter 15

I do not own Yugioh!5D's

Chapter 15- Fortune Cup Close

- _This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning -_ Winston Churchill

* * *

It was like something out of Pokémon.

At least my interpretation of it was.

"Skylar is unable to battle, the winner and moving on to the final round – Izayoi Aki."

I thought it was kind of funny, not the fact that I had a sore, bruised and injured body, but I could legit see Announcer Guy saying it in that exact way.

I was currently in the infirmary, having just had a fresh roll of bandages applied to my wounds. It was nothing too serious. I just had a few small cuts on my arms, legs. My torso was bruised and I may have a slight concussion.

I sat up in the bed that I had been more or less confined to. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

That could have gone better.

I didn't even get a chance to counter her.

"You dueled well."

 _'_ _No I didn't.'_

I pressed my lips together and gazed at Yusei. He had been the last of the mismatched following, that had transitioned into the lives of the twins and myself, to visit.

I could understand that, he had a duel with Aki soon.

"Did you accomplish what you set out to do?"

"I'm…not sure. Apart from surviving, I don't know what I accomplished," I muttered the latter sentence.

Then something dawned on me, and without hesitating I spoke aloud. "I heard what was lying dormant in her heart."

But of course I wasn't able to do much. My eyes shifted towards Yusei.

 _'_ _You're the one who will ultimately open the doors of her heart'._

I paused and internally grimaced at my thoughts.

 _'_ _Open the doors of her heart'?_

Ugh.

What was this – some sappy romance episode?

Silence had settled between us. There was so much to say but neither of us had the words…at least I was the one who didn't have the words, Yusei didn't have the time.

My eyes eventually wandered to my clothing. Or what was left of it. I internally lamented the loss of my practical and awesome tactile outfit.

My jacket was long gone and the undershirt that I wore was in tatters. As for my pants, well…maybe I'd bring the ripped pants style to Y5Ds. The only thing I had that was relatively unscathed was my combat boots.

 _'_ _I was such an idiot to duel her in those clothes.'_

"Here," Yusei's voice woke me from my mourning. I glanced at him surprised as he held out a small bag in front of me. I hesitated only for a moment, before taking the bag from him.

I quickly scanned its contents. They were an extra set of clothes.

"Thanks." The words spilled from my lips as I blinked surprisingly at him.

He nodded in reply.

"I'm heading off to my duel," he said turning to exit the small room. "You should stay and rest."

Technically, concussion patients were supposed to…well, not fall asleep.

I gave a slight shrug before falling backwards to settle into the bed below me. It was only a slight concussion either way. Whether or not Yusei left before I drifted off really didn't matter to me.

* * *

Jack Atlas was ready to finally end the rivalry that existed between Yusei and himself. It was too bothersome.

Just seeing Yusei reaching towards his position, where he reigned King, was enough to make his blood boil.

To get to where he was today he had to step on and over everyone. He had to give up everything.

Yusei had a duel with him, King. Yusei had a chance to dethrone him. And he hadn't had to give up a single thing.

Now wasn't that a slap to the face?

Jack left the scum and squalor behind. He did what was best for him and then he threw his success into the face of a world that had it out for him since the very beginning (possibly before the beginning).

He was normal, (not common of course). As normal as the Kings of past who were destined for greatness were.

For a commoner to be as audacious as to approach his throne…

That just wouldn't do.

Jack Atlas would put Yusei Fudo in his place once and for all.

* * *

"And I want popcorn and two hamburgers," he chirped as he lounged in the couch provided for he and his sister.

Luca sat quietly beside him sipping from her cup soda.

Lua smirked sharply at the painted face man in front of him (whom he knew he was going to be taller than in the future) as he saw the man visibly grit his teeth. His name was Yeager.

Lua knew that because after he and his sister had been brought before Goodwin, Goodwin, before leaving, had ordered Yeager to look after them.

Lua had initially scoffed at the idea. He didn't need a babysitter. At least not one that wasn't Skylar-nii-san, whom he and Luca had been very worried about after seeing her duel with that witch.

But at least the clown had had the decency to inform them of her status. She was in the infirmary. Worse for wears but she would survive. They wanted to see her so badly, but aside from a live video feed of the infirmary (…and Lua thought that that spoke to an entirely different level of disturbing), they weren't allowed to actually talk to her…or anyone outside of their impromptu guard dog.

Che. If he were stronger this probably wouldn't have happened. If he were stronger…

Lua silently seethed as he watched as the Black Rose make her way onto the duelling platform. How dare that witch hurt his Nii-san?

And now Yusei was in her line of fire.

Lua clenched his fists. He wished he was stronger.

He needed to become stronger.

So that he could protect his own, so that he could protect Luca and Skylar-nii-san.

That's one of the reasons why he looked up to Yusei. That's why he looked up to Jack. As much of a jerk as Jack was, he was still King. He was strong. He talked a talk that he could back up.

Lua wanted to be like that.

And he would. He absolutely would.

But for now, he needed to turn his focus towards Yusei's duel with Izayoi.

"C'mon Yusei! You can do it!" he yelled at the screen.

Just then Yeager walked in food in hand and cringed at the sound of his voice.

"He can't hear you, you little brat," the man grit out.

Lua briefly glanced at Luca. Before long, Luca nodded, having understood the message he silently conveyed. Lua grinned.

" **C'mon Yusei! You can do it**!" they both yelled, leaping to stand on the couch cushions. Lua snickered at the resulting groan.

Ah, Skylar-nii-san would be proud.

* * *

The throbbing in my arm woke me up.

Unfortunately, a glowing Signer Mark wasn't the only thing that I woke up to. At least I think I was awake.

Because the reality I had fallen asleep in didn't look as if it was something straight out of a Sci-fi movie.

I swear I was just waiting for a voice-over to announce – 'You have entered the twilight zone'.

I had not expected to awaken to my body floating in space (or at least it was a type of space) surrounded by some kind of crimson force field. But I probably should have.

I looked directly below me only to see two familiar D-wheels zooming across a bridge of light two equally familiar dragons flying just above them.

"Nii-san!"

My head snapped upwards and my eyes widened as I saw both Luca and Aki, similarly positioned as I was.

I didn't get to reply to her because my attention was once again drawn directly below me. An image, an instance of something that was – A stone temple surrounded by devote worshipers, they're adoration directed to a Crimson Star above them ( **The People of the Stars** ) – followed immediately by a chilling scene (An almost prophecy) – The annihilation of a forsaken city.

A spider mark of amethyst flames blazed across all of Satellite, consuming and destroying everything within its path.

I noticed something else too. There were no people. Was that a good sign or a bad one?

A shout of pain brought my attention to the D-wheels below. Jack and Yusei were continuing they're duel. I wasn't particularly keen on being so close to the action though.

I wasn't paying attention to what was being said, but I didn't need to. I already knew where this duel was going and how it would end.

I briefly glanced towards Aki. My mark had burned as it never had before when she had been dueling Yusei. She had been in so much pain and through the mark I could feel the internal turmoil that was happening within the depths of her heart.

I almost felt sorry for her and what she was going through. But she'd overcome it soon enough I suppose.

It hadn't been easy for me to fall asleep after the duel was over. But my exhausted body had won out in the end.

I had been relatively undisturbed until now.

I returned my gaze to those below me. I watched as the men traded blow for blow, card for card. It was a sight to see really. As customary, it ended up being dragon against dragon.

Stardust Dragon vs Red Demons Dragon.

The end was nigh.

I watched fascinated. The power within those two dragons alone represented a power…beyond what should be in a mere card game.

Though I long since realized that duel monsters was never a 'mere card game'.

It was the means through which battles and wars and lives and futures were fought and won…or lost.

This time around, the battle went to Yusei.

With the use of a final spell card, which was, aptly called Final Attack – Stardust Dragon won.

In the moments of the great dragon's attack, just as Jack and his monster, I was engulfed in a bright white light.

* * *

I was clad in a simple purple shirt and brown khaki pants, both a size too big and with the Fortune Cup logo.

I had almost fallen off of the infirmary bed, having woken up with a jump. Either way, I was currently on my way towards the stands. No doubt the tumultuous clamour I was now hearing was a result of Yusei becoming King.

I was almost there when I was almost run over by a small figure.

Blue-green was the first thing that flashed crossed my sight and I instinctively clutched unto the shoulders of the person who had bounced into me.

"Lua!" I exclaimed happily as I brought him into a hug.

Then something dawned on me.

"…What are you doing here?" I asked through narrowed eyes.

"No time Nii-san!" Lua spoke urgently pulling away from me and grabbing unto my hand in a single motion.

The next thing I know I'm being dragged by Lua. "We've gotta get out of here quick before the reporters or the crowd mob Yusei!"

"Hey! Take it easy!" I winced. I was still injured and sore from my duel with Aki. But if I needed to prioritize, I would.

First we had to get out of the stadium unnoticed, then I'd more than likely get some more sleep and after that…well I'd have to see how that went.

My eyes drifted towards Lua, who was still dragging me albeit more gently, and narrowed.

 _'_ _Actually, I think I'll talk to Lua and Luca before I get some sleep'._

I felt satisfied when I saw Lua's shoulders stiffen under my gaze.

.

.

.

.

 _There was nothing fortunate about the Fortune Cup. And things would get harder. Can't say I was looking forward to those hard times_.

* * *

Word Count: 1967

* * *

Omake: Preamble

Where would she be if it hadn't been for that day?

If that person with the twins hadn't knocked her over? At least she/he had apologized (though as rushed as the apology had been she doubts that the person even looked in her direction), many wouldn't have.

But it was thanks to that event that she had broken her camera. If she hadn't broken her camera then she wouldn't have gone to the repair shop that day and she wouldn't have gotten that flyer to that seminar. That seminar exclusive only to aspiring photographers, reporters and writers who visited that shop regularly.

That was why it was good to have connections…or have the owner of the repair shop's kid like you. Whichever.

The point was, because of that seminar, her life made a ninety degree turn.

She had met people at that seminar, who had offered to open up a world of opportunities to her, for her. She accepted and now –

There was no stopping her.

* * *

A/N: A shorter chapter than the previous one. I will admit to being a bit lazy with this chapter. I really wanted to finish this arc.

As for the Omake...It's pretty obvious who this is...right? Guess who it is. It didn't come out as I would have liked, but it gonna stay as is, unless I edit it later. As for that guest reviewer who asked about that 'Girl Talk' omake between Luca and Skylar - it's coming...eventually.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed/viewed/favourited/followed!

Constructive criticism/comments/questions/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

U.P.: Sign Out


	16. Chapter 16

I do not own Yugioh!5D's

Chapter 16- Control

- _We want to feel we are in control of our own existence. In some ways we are, in some ways we're not –_ Paul Auster

* * *

Angela was a reporter.

The best of the best.

But even the best of the best came up short every now and again. She told herself that it was so that persons like her could inspire hope in the hearts of the little people. It showed that even the extremely gifted experienced challenges and overcame them.

And on that note, she pouted at the fact that she had been unable to get an interview with the new King – Yusei Fudo. Now that was a front-page story.

'Underprivileged Satellite Native Ascends to the Throne'.

Hmm. 'Underprivileged' and 'Satellite' sounded redundant.

The Director had refused to comment any further after being asked only a handful of questions and now she glared at the guards that stood, blocking their (her camera man and herself) entry to her final hope for a Prime-time worthy scoop – the dethroned King, Jack Atlas.

And Angela smirked a bit vindictively. The number of times she had met with Jack Atlas, their personalities had clashed.

She had an 'A' type personality, while Jack Atlas was an A-classed jerk.

So maybe she had gone a _little_ out of her way to make things harder for Jack Atlas in terms of the media, but it wasn't as if she outright slandered him. She too had her standards and unjustifiable defamation of character was below those standards.

Back to the matter at hand.

They weren't letting anyone in the hospital. How was she supposed to go about getting that interview now?

As she pondered this, she was almost mowed over by someone coming from her left behind her.

"Hey, watch where you're going," she snapped. She got irritable when things didn't go her way.

"Sorry," came a wholly unapologetic voice.

Wait, she knew that voice.

Angela's gazed narrowed in on the person that spoke and scrutinized the person from the bottom up. Purple sneakers, blue knee-length boyfriend jeans, small Purple bag hanging across her waist, blue and white striped shirt with a purple sleeveless jacket thrown over it. Angela let out a small gasp upon getting a closer look at the person's face. Or more accurately, the person's glasses.

There was only one person she knew that wore trifocal lenses that were that… _awful._

And even though the hairstyle was different, (Black hair caught up in a mid-high pony-tail), Angela knew exactly who this was.

"Nagisa? Nagisa Carly?"

A smirk (again, Angela found this weird), formed on the now named Carly's lips. "The one and only."

It could have just been Angela's imagination but she couldn't remember ever associating that voice with the tone of confidence she now heard.

"What are you doing here?" Angela asked as she stood a bit straighter and lifted her chin a bit higher. "I didn't know that they sent interns to do the jobs of actual reporters."

Most persons would think that Angela was haughty. And she was. But it came with the job description. If you didn't have confidence, in this business, people would walk all over you and then eat you alive. So what if she had a bit more confidence than others had? Besides she worked hard to get where she currently was.

"Actually," Carly started, her smirk widening, and Angela regarded her warily, "I don't work for that newspaper anymore. As to why I'm here, I'm one my way inside to see the King."

Angela snorted – Hadn't she heard that Yusei Fudo was the new King? Leave it to Carly to be behind the times.

"Didn't you know? Jack Atlas has been dethroned. He's not King anymore."

Angela almost recoiled at the glare sent her way.

Carly adjusted her glasses on her face, before turning sharply and heading towards the door to the hospital.

Had she just been dismissed? By Stutter Stammer Carly? Talk about a blow to the ego.

"And how exactly do you plan on getting in?" Angela glared after the girl. "They're not letting anyone in."

"Didn't you know?" Carly called back derisively and Angela fumed, "I'm the Head PR Specialist for the Public Security Maintenance Bureau."

Angela froze, her jaw dropping in disbelief. Her eyes widened as she watched Carly walk up to the guards at the hospital entrance and then saw them _salute_ her as she walked straight past them without a second glance.

Angela stared at the entrance, even though Carly had disappeared inside the building.

How had that just happened?!

She sighed as she rubbed her temple, trying to abate the incoming headache.

Today had definitely not been her day.

* * *

A single three pronged candelabrum was the only light source within a large room that was otherwise bare save for the long table that the candelabrum rested on and the chair that was situated at the head of the table.

It was here that a man, clad in a black hooded robe, sat. To his right, stood two other similarly clad figures.

Purple irises gleamed in the darkness as sinister chuckles reverberated throughout the empty room.

The stage had been set after all.

After 5000 years, the Signers had finally been gathered. It was cause for celebration, for the battle ahead would be vicious indeed.

The hooded man grinned cruelly at the thought of the chaos to come. Even now, the number of his drones were increasing.

Soon, everyone would become entangled within his web and there would be no escape.

* * *

The twins and I, Yanagi, Spike and Yusei ended up staying in the Daimon Area (and if the twins parents knew that, they'd have my head), in Saiga's apartment.

His single roomed apartment. Then again it was a large room. There were three couches and a single bed. At the very center of the room was a table on which computers and other different types of machines and tools were. There were even Runner parts here and there and the bookshelves within the room were either filled with Duelist Catalogues, D-wheeler catalogues, Computer Manuals and surprisingly Crime novels, case studies or some sort of law books (I wasn't going to try to read into that).

I sat around the table as I attempted to change my bandages (Infirmary Doctor's orders). I needed something to occupy my time anyways. I couldn't sleep, not with what happened earlier.

Flashback

 _I watched as Yanagi attempted to draw the full symbol of the Crimson Dragon. He did a pretty good job actually._

 _When Lua and Yusei drew up their respective sleeves, they found that the marks looked exactly as it did in the crude drawing – well that is to say that the marks resembled parts the dragon._

 _Then Yanagi told of the little he knew of the People of the Stars._

 _"_ _Wait," Spike interjected, "So the Signers are Yusei, Luca, Skylar, Jack and Izayoi Aki."_

 _Though I knew it was coming, I stiffened nonetheless._

 _Spike was a lot more observant than I first gave him credit for. It goes to show how closely he had been observing my duel with Aki. Apparently, when I had been about to be hit by the Black Rose Dragon, my mark had flared up in response (which could mean that I ended up walking away with less injuries than I should have gotten and wasn't that a discomforting thought)._

 _It hadn't flared up for that long, but it was intense enough to be noticed through my jacket sleeve and had happened long enough for Spike to notice. I didn't even want to think of who else noticed that._

 _"_ _Nii-san?" Luca questioned. I looked down at her and couldn't help but feel guilty. I had been keeping a lot from her, from both her and her brother. I still had to keep a lot from them._

 _But for now…_

 _"_ _I'm not a Signer," I spoke up._

 _"_ _Eh?" Yanagi and Lua verbalized while the others stared at me questioningly._

 _Instead of answering, I made to unwrap my right arm and I held it out so that they could see._

 _"_ _Wait a minute!" Yanagi exclaimed as he snatched his drawing from the table and held it to my arm. "That's the full mark of the Crimson Dragon! Signers are only supposed to have part of it! The Head, Tail, Hands, Legs and Wings! Why do you have all of it?!"_

 _"_ _I don't know, I was just born with it," I began. "I know I'm connected in all this though."_

 _I had practiced what I would say to them. I hope I didn't come off as a loon. "I've always had visions, dreams, if you will. I never thought that…I'd see parts of them come true."_

 _There was silence for a moment, before Lua spoke, "But that just leaves four. So who's the fifth Signer?"_

 _I opened my mouth to reply but I paused._

 _I looked at the faces of everyone there, my eyes remaining on Yusei's a little bit longer than the others, before I looked out the window with a sigh._

 _"_ _I wish I could tell you."_

 _That much was entirely true._

End Flashback

I sighed before tugging at the bandages on my left arm. I knew I should have applied them myself. Nurses always did them too tightly.

"Need any help?" Yusei asked from his position on the couch. I had thought that he had been asleep. Even though he had been sitting up, his eyes had been closed.

Luca and Lua were asleep on the small bed. Yanagi and Spike were sprawled against each other on one couch (the one just in front of the bookshelves), Yusei had been on another (the one closest to the door) and the one that was by the windows had been left empty for me.

"Sure," I answered.

In a few moments Yusei had pulled up another chair and began helping me undo the bandages. I noticed that my mark hadn't reacted to his touch. Maybe it was only when he touched my right arm?

"Do they still hurt?" he asked and I shook my head, knowing what he was referring to.

"I have more bruises than cuts," I informed him as I reached for the roll of bandages beside me and went to re-bandage my arm.

"You should probably clean those again." I glanced considerately at my arm. I hoped that none of the cuts left a scar. Scars weren't the easiest thing to hide when you had skin as pale as I did.

"They'll be fine." I had both my legs to do as well anyways.

"Will you be?"

I snapped my gaze towards Yusei and I frowned confusedly.

Yusei elaborated, "You look as if you have the world on your shoulders."

I found myself replying without a second thought. "That's basically what bearing any kind of mark having to do with the Crimson Dragon is. The world on your shoulders."

I tasted the bitterness of my words.

Something in Yusei's gaze shifted. It wasn't sympathy, not quite, but that was the only word I could think of that was close enough to describe the look in his eyes.

"Are you saying that because of what you've seen?"

I smiled wryly at that even though I knew Yusei was being serious. He was being serious because he believed me. He trusted what I had said as the truth and he seemed to be worried about me in that regards too.

Was it wrong that that gave me some kind of twisted amusement?

I looked Yusei right in the eyes and asked, smile still on my lips, "What do you think?"

Yusei was silent and I took the chance to bandage my arm.

"I won't let it happen." I stared at him.

"What I saw happen to Satellite when I was dueling Jack, whatever it is that you've seen that you're worrying about. I won't let it happen."

"You can't promise that."

And neither could I. Because no matter how good or pure our intentions were – bad things always happened.

"I didn't mean to say that there won't be challenges, that dangerous situations won't arise. I mean that no matter what, I'll overcome them."

If I didn't know of Yusei's character I would have written him off as boastful or just plain masochistic.

"Why would you do that? Willingly pledge yourself to head into a war?"

I knew that I had asked this same question in a past life. I don't think I had gotten an answer at that time.

I watched as Yusei stood up and headed to look through the window.

"Because I have people behind of me, that I need to protect," he answered, his back towards me.

"People behind of you," I parroted.

"My friends. You guys are the ones who give me the strength."

 _'_ _Darn it,'_ I thought as I felt my cheeks heat up at his words. That was one of the cheesiest lines that I had ever heard and yet…

A sharp throbbing pain had me glancing at my right arm. My eyes widened minutely at the glow the mark it held gave off, before I turned to question Yusei about it. I saw him peer out the window before turning sharply on his heels.

In one fluid movement, he grabbed at his duel disk that had been on the table and headed towards the door.

I got up to follow him when, seemingly remembering that I was awake and there, he turned and addressed me in a sharp tone, "Stay here, I'll be back soon."

And without waiting for a reply, he ran out of the room.

I frowned, which was a natural reaction when someone who is used to doing whatever they want is told what to do.

I could always follow him anyway and feed him either the whole 'I'm independent' act or the 'I was worried' act.

I snorted and plopped down back into the seat and set out to work on my legs – I needed to apply some ointment. I really preferred the 'Stick to the Canon' act right now.

* * *

Even though she had made all that fuss about being a head PR in front of Angela. It really was just a title and could be really tedious at times.

When Carly had seen Angela, she couldn't help but want to stick it to her. It was petty, playing the 'Rub my awesome job position in your face' card, but her fortune for the day was 'Super Happy' and seeing the look on Angela's face had made her happy.

She was still as much of a klutz as she was before she got the position she now had. Proof: after she had walked into the hospital she promptly fell over her own feet.

But that was still the least of her problems.

Sometimes she felt as if she was on the wrong end of the spectrum. Sometimes she wanted to be the one out there, on the streets. The person risking their neck for a story, instead of sitting behind a desk organizing press releases, conferences and conventions, instead of debating newsletter formats or issuing statements.

It was a bit boring.

But this was where she was and she couldn't just up and quit. She owed a lot to Director Goodwin after all.

He had taken a basically no named, off the street amateur reporter and given her a place at the Public Security Maintenance Bureau. How could she bite the hand that literally fed her or rather made it possible for her to feed herself?

If not for Goodwin, she'd probably be…living in her car or something.

She was grateful to him.

And yet, whenever she drove past the many street duels, her heart ached, as if longing for its first love.

Carly loved watching people duel. Actually she loved seeing people _succeed_ at dueling. It was inspiring to her and she had begun writing about them in hopes of inspiring others.

Which was why she followed the duels of one Jack Atlas so closely. When she had first met him, admittedly he was a bit rough around the edges, but when she found out his background (after a bit of snooping – the reporter in her was still as vibrant as ever if not a bit subdued after a year or so after working for Goodwin) she understood why he was the way he was.

He had come from the Satellite.

Which explained a lot actually.

She wasn't justifying the fact that he (and by extension Goodwin and the PSMB too) was lying to the entire world (but it wasn't as if she could speak out against it either, because though Goodwin had his bouts of Samaritan-like generosity, his Ruthlessness reared its head even more often), but it did explain why he always wore such a hard cased exterior.

Why he felt the need to immediately establish himself as someone superior. He was probably tired of persons looking down on him. He was probably tired of persons treating him like dirt. So he made it his mission in life to get to a place where none of that would ever happen. At least some place where it was nigh impossible to happen.

How tragic.

How beautifully tragic.

If only she could write his story. But seeing as she couldn't, she'd kept a close eye on him. She watched him thrive and grow. But she was itching to know about the Jack that was beyond the hard exterior the blond man wore. Now was as good a time as any she supposed.

Carly paused in her walking as she reached into her bag for her vibrating phone.

"Yes, Director? I'm almost at Ja- Atlas-san's room."

Indeed she was. According to the nurse, all she had to do was turn right at the end of the hallway she was currently in. Carly paused nonetheless, as she listened as the smooth voice issued her a new set of orders.

"Understood Director." She tried to hide the whine in her voice as she ended the call.

Carly pouted as she stared at the phone, before sighing and turning to exit the hospital.

It couldn't be helped she supposed.

But she'd still rather interview er- speak with Jack than prep for a public appearance in the evening.

PR work could be so tedious.

* * *

Yusei returned a little after the sun rose. And he had decided to return to the Satellite. Though the twins were disappointed, I knew that there was no stopping him.

Home is where the heart is and all that jazz. When choosing between Neo Domino City and Satellite, Yusei chose Satellite. That's where his precious people were anyways.

Was I jealous?

No. In fact I honestly understood.

He had stronger bonds with the persons there than he had with any of us here in NDC. Besides, the people of the Satellite needed him more than the people here did.

I wasn't jealous, but that thought did leave a sting behind.

Anyway, before Yusei could plan out how he'd go about returning to the Satellite. Trudge or rather Tetsu pulled up, along with two or so squad cars, in front of Saiga's hideout (which wasn't much of a hideout anymore it would seem).

And that's when Yusei decided something.

Yusei…was going to see Goodwin. Yusei had gone to see Goodwin.

He had a lot more guts than me. I've always run from a confrontation with Goodwin.

These days though, it looked as if I wouldn't be able to run for much longer.

Yusei had had an encounter with a Dark Signer (I had an inkling that it was no more than a drone. The bad guys seldom sent out their strongest right off the bat. They just loved to test their opponents. Test if they were 'worthy'). His face was like stone when he spoke to me about it.

"A fight with the Dark Signers may mean…risking your life." That's what he told me before he left with Tetsu.

I had known that. I had expected that. But even knowing couldn't quell the anticipation and the _fear_ that came along with it. Why did persons want to know the future anyways?

I knew that Yusei meant well, that he wanted me to see that there was still hope, because the last thing that Yusei said to me –

"We're the only ones who can control our fate."

.

.

.

.

 _But I was living proof that that…was a lie._

* * *

Word Count: 3390

* * *

Omake: Punishment

Skylar hummed as she flipped through the page of the magazine she was reading.

She paused at one page in particular.

"Cas Dillon is as big as ever," she mumbled to herself.

Saiga who had returned from the local shop with supplies for dinner, blinked at the sight that greeted him.

There against the far wall to his left were Lua and Luca, only they sat with their knees folded under them, arms raised above their heads and their heads…had books on them.

"What am I looking at?" he asked cautiously.

"The twins are in punishment," Skylar spoke and she offered no further explanation.

"They didn't have the books on their heads up 'til a few minutes ago," Yanagi spoke as he rummaged through the bags that he had placed on the tables. "The missy warned 'em. Said that the next person who said a word would end up worse than they presently were."

Saiga couldn't help but roll his eyes. His home had never been so noisy. How could Yusei have left him with three of the most troublesome factors known to man –?

Women – His eyes flitted to the figure that lounged in his (favourite) couch reading the magazine he planned to read when he got home.

Children – He then looked over to the two blue-green haired kids that precariously balanced his catalogues on their heads.

And Old people – His lips twisted into a small grimace as he watched Yanagi joyously confiscated the small package of chocolate that he'd plan on eating later.

Saiga rubbed his temple. He didn't have a headache before he stepped into his home.

He turned to go and get an aspirin (or four), when another sight gave him pause. He deadpanned at Himuro's bulky figure up against the wall furthest to the right of the room only he had one of Saiga's law books on the crown of his head.

He heard Yanagi snicker. "Himuro-chan told the kids 'tough break'."

Saiga face palmed as he wondered something –

Just who was getting punished?

* * *

A/N: A longer chapter than last time. I'm posting this today because I won't have any time to do so later on in the week.

And as for Carly - I've always thought that her character could do with a bit more confidence and more opportunities. So yeah, I'm making her work for Goodwin. And as for her wardrobe...I actually liked what she wore in the anime, so I just changed the colour scheme a bit.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed/viewed/favourited/followed!

Constructive criticism/comments/questions/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

U.P.: Sign Out


	17. Chapter 17

I do not own Yugioh!5D's

Chapter 17- Among the Ashes

- _The love of family and the admiration of friends is much more important than wealth and privilege-_ Charles Kuralt

* * *

'Road of the King'.

Jack Atlas even had his own movie. He had been at the top of the world. But now he had fallen. And what a hard fall it had been.

He couldn't even make it to the previewing of his own movie. At least he was spared _some_ embarrassment.

Carly forced a small smile onto her face as bid a hasty good-bye to her associates…or rather the company's associates.

The party had dragged (to her anyway) and the only interesting thing that happened was when Angela went ahead and blabbed about Jack being from the Satellite and not the Tops like the Director had said.

And Carly cringed. The Director had not looked pleased. And now she had to do even more damage control.

Carly straightened the hem of her white beaded crop top dress as she made her way out of the large ball room.

"Excuse me miss?"

She paused in her steps to turn towards the person who had called to her. Her quizzical expression gave way to surprise as her mouth fell open slightly.

"M-m-m-Misty-san?" Hmm she stuttered less than she expected. She didn't get to meet celebrities often, but she had met with enough to know how to act around them.

But seriously though.

The world's number 1 model had just called out to her. Maybe the rest of the day wouldn't be as bad as her Fortune had foretold (That was the last time she checked her fortune twice in one day).

Misty was an absolutely gorgeous woman. She had the long hair, the soft coloured irises (light blue if she remembered correctly), a lean frame and a walk and speech so elegant that- you just had to stare at her.

Carly's mouth snapped shut and she straightened up, hoping that her shaky knees weren't too noticeable (She knew she should have worn a longer dress).

"Yes, Misty-san." There we go – stutter free.

"Your face has me quite interested."

There was this saying that all celebrities were weird- Carly stumbled back as Misty approached her, clutching Carly's face- Misty was certainly on her way to proving that saying right.

"I have an interest in fortune telling."

…Maybe she wasn't that weird (Fortune telling _was_ a healthy fascination after all).

"I read one's face…their physiognomy."

Carly…didn't know what to say. She felt her cheeks warm (because really _Misty_ was _this_ close to her face) under the model's scrutiny. The fact that Misty took her lenses without hesitance or permission, didn't help in any way.

"I can see the shadow of death about you. It's saying that you will die soon."

Now didn't that put a damper on things?

"What?" Carly intoned with a confused frown.

Misty merely smiled though there was something clandestine about it. And Carly felt her body tense, even as Misty set her glasses upon her face once more.

"Don't worry. When that happens, we'll be able to find a better understanding of one another."

Annnd, Carly had had enough for one night. Fortunately for her, Misty was the one who excused herself, giving Carly one last smile before she seemingly floated into the ballroom.

Now Carly had gotten bad fortunes before, but…

Carly frowned as she watched Misty disappear within the ballroom crown.

She had gotten an eerie kind of feeling about Misty.

"What is the deal with her?" Carly mumbled as she spun around and went in search for the Director.

Maybe her fortune had been right. How unlucky for her.

* * *

It was a good thing he was in a hospital. After the duel he just had, he needed one.

Now if only the nurses or doctors were in sight. He knew that the he had been at the epicentre of explosions and such, but you'd think that at least a few of the doctors or nurses would have stayed behind.

Wasn't it their jobs to ensure the safety and health of their patients?

The cowards.

He grunted as his feet finally gave way and he fell against the nearest wall. He was bone-tired.

What was up with that third-rate Security goon either way? The last he'd checked the goon had always had it out for Yusei. Come to think of it, the goon also never had a glowing spider mark on his arm.

At least now he had a name for the evil that he was supposed to face – The Dark Signers.

Jack grit his teeth as he stifled a pained moan. His right arm was killing him, he really shouldn't have dueled with a sprained arm.

"What in the world!"

Jack's increasingly bleary gaze shifted towards the source of the voice. There before him, among the fallen debris, stood a girl (with weird glasses) adorned in white.

 _'_ _An angel?'_

Jack snorted incredulously at his line of thoughts. He must have been more out of it than he thought?

But maybe she was a God-send after all.

"Hey you," he grit out.

He heard the girl give a nervous yelp, before she slowly approached him. He felt as if he would pass out at any given moment.

"Y-yes Atlas-sama?" He hoped she wasn't some deranged fangirl.

Wait – 'deranged' and 'fangirl' sounded redundant.

"What happened here?"

Jack grunted in answer as he motioned for her to help him up. She did so but ended up supporting most of his weight.

He hated being so weak. Worse – he hated being so weak in front of another person.

But he needed to get out of the mess that he helped cause, without being seen by any reporters. He'd have to risk trusting that at the very least, she wouldn't strip him naked and sell his clothing.

"Get me out of here."

Uttering those words – that was the only thing his body allowed him to do, before his consciousness began to fade.

He distantly heard the warbling of the female's voice.

"…Unlucky…"

He would have rolled his eyes if he could have.

Because altogether, for the past two days, he's the one who's been unlucky.

* * *

He'd done a lot of things in his life time – as short as it may have been thus far.

He'd lied, he'd cheated, he'd hacked and he'd stolen.

Heh, he was still doing those things to date.

All in the name of survival of course.

….But he'd be lying if he said that he didn't enjoy the thrill of it all. His life wasn't ideal, but it was exhilarating.

And though he was many things – a caged bird wasn't one of them.

Which was why it cracked him up every time the Security Bureau tried to bring him in. He relished it, in fact. There was just something about outwitting the Security that made all the trouble he went through worthwhile.

…But again he'd be lying if he said that that was the only reason he did all he did. The kids, the little squirts – he believed that there was better for them. He wanted them to have an easier life than he did. He wanted them to not live like he was currently living.

Marked (Though personally he liked the dangerous look that they gave him).

That's why he'd do whatever it took to give them every opportunity he could. He'd give them every opportunity he didn't have when he was their age.

He was just an awesome role model like that.

* * *

She had brought him to an amusement park.

How childish. And yet he had felt obligated to go along with the ridiculous request from the PR specialist.

Nagisa Carly.

He had initially thought that she was a reporter. Then he found out that she was one of Goodwin's lapdogs. He'd have preferred it if she had been a reporter.

But he had stuck around nonetheless because…well, she didn't act like Goodwin's lapdog nor did she act as if she had an ulterior motive.

"How much longer are you going to make me do this?" he had asked.

"How much longer do you need an escape?" she had replied casually and he'd barely repressed a scowl. What had she been trying to imply? That he was hiding out? Running away?

"I was honestly trying to melt your heart or rather that hard exterior that you're always wearing," she had continued. "You've been so pensive, so you must have a lot on your mind right? And you, must be hurting a lot too."

Jack frowned that time. The two of them had been sitting on one of the park's benches.

"What do you know?" he had spat out, glaring from behind his dark shades that he had worn as a part of his disguise.

She had finally started to get to him.

She'd been at his hip since he'd woken up in that apartment of hers and after being dragged around a children's theme park and going on ridiculous rides for the better part of the day, he'd have rather taken a break than spend time listening to her Psychoanalyze him.

But what was worse was that she had been right. She had stated the obvious – he'd just lost what he'd given up so much for, so of course he had a lot on his mind – but she had been right.

He'd had a lot on his mind.

He'd…he'd kept on hearing them calling his name.

Them – the various crowds that he'd dueled in front of. They'd always come unplugged as soon as he entered the track.

There were screams, there were shouts – all cries of adulation, cries of his name.

But he'd also kept on hearing another voice call his name.

 _"_ _Jack!"_

Of course it had had to be Yusei of all persons.

It always seemed to be Yusei.

Even when he had still been in the Satellite, Yusei had always held him up in one way or the other.

Satellite.

"You know, you can't see Satellite from here," Carly's voice sounded from behind him and Jack wasn't surprised. Of course, she'd followed him to the tower.

He'd known that the possibility of him seeing his once-home from the tower was unlikely, yet he'd hoped…

Silence settled among them as he continued to gaze at the wide expanse of the ocean afforded to him.

"Two years ago, I came to this city from the Satellite. I abandoned my hometown and my friends…"

He'd figure out why he was telling a stranger this later.

"Back then, I gave up everything and what I gained from it was the path to being a King who continually acts like a clown as he lies about his true identity."

He truly had been more of a court jester than a King. He'd entertain crowds of people, whom most had now turned their backs on him, though he deserved it.

"It was the path to being a foolish duelist who had forgotten who he was."

He'd also forgotten who was important.

"Giving up everything has now made me finally realize. There was something in the depths of my heart holding me up."

It hadn't been the prestige and wealth. Pity he'd realized that too late.

That was when her voice chimed in yet again.

"If you get the picture that much, then just start your life over again."

Did he dare hope again though?

"The way I see it is that the old Jack died in that battle with Yusei. Now it's time for the _real_ Jack Atlas to live. It's not impossible is it?"

Jack's resolve strengthened. Nothing was impossible, it had never been for him.

"Become a real King."

It took mere seconds for his mind to return to a time when he truly felt as if he was on top. It had been a time when he had all his friends around him, looking to him with acceptance, trust, faith.

Perhaps that was all a King really needed.

…And he was nothing if not a King.

"I won't be led astray anymore. I'll press forward on my path." That's what he now resolved.

"You can write or say whatever you want about me."

In the long run the masses, the wealth, the fame – they didn't matter.

"We of the Public Relations seek to protect our duelists," Carly smiled as she fiddled with her glasses.

He found himself mirroring her smile, before he allowed it to drop. He'd been on a sabbatical long enough. It was time he returned – to where he was needed.

.

.

.

 _The Sun had set, but no matter. It would rise again and a new morning would begin._

* * *

Word Count: 2084

* * *

Omake: Girl Talk Pt 1 – Small

I was decidedly uncomfortable.

I'd never had to give the any kind of…talk to someone so young before. I knew the physiology of the human body – I had been a science student and hey, I went through puberty twice – so I was confident in what I knew.

But it was a matter of relaying that information in such a way so as to not permanently scare the girl before me.

Luca about as uncomfortable on the outside as I felt on the inside.

And honestly for all intents and purposes, her parents were the ones who were supposed to field these kind of situations.

"What kind of… _girl things_ were you thinking of?" I asked Luca. I didn't necessarily want to go in as blind as I currently was.

I watched in fascination as Luca's face changed to an interesting shade of red. She clutched her chest.

"When I was changing after gym class, I noticed that I was…smaller in comparison to some of the other girls."

I almost choked on my spit. Kami knows how I would have reacted if that phrase had come from Lua's lips.

My lips quivered despite Luca's obvious embarrassment.

"It's okay Luca," I spoke with a bit of a laugh. And here I thought that I'd have to give her a rendition of the 'Birds and the Bees'. "Some girls at your age are just a bit more…developed than others. That doesn't mean that you won't grow. It just takes longer for some."

I watched as Luca moved her hand from her chest to look at me. However, she wasn't looking at my face.

I followed her line of vision…to my chest.

…I had a small bust-size and aside from that I tended to wear padded clothing – seeing as I was a D-wheeler and all. But I wasn't _flat_ per se.

My eyes narrowed at her.

Seemingly feeling the weight of my gaze Luca glanced at my eyes, before she quickly looked away.

I directed an unimpressed look towards her. And though I wasn't defending anything or anyone, I felt the need to add at least one more thing.

"And some girls just remain small."

* * *

A/N: I didn't particularly like how this chapter came out. Anyway, I'll be posting two chapters today.

And as for the Omake, I wasn't particularly thrilled with that either, but they'll get better.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed/viewed/favourited/followed! Thanks for the support y'all.

Constructive criticism/comments/questions/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

U.P.: Sign Out


	18. Chapter 18

I do not own Yugioh!5D's

Chapter 18- Rising Tension

– _The fibres of all things have their tension and are strained like the strings of an instrument_ – Henry David Thoreau

* * *

It had been good to meet up with Crow and all his friends. And Yusei knew that wherever Jack was, that'd he'd be okay. He'd never been the type to remain at the bottom for long.

He'd gotten to duel alongside Crow against the Public Security.

It had certainly brought back memories.

Though, he didn't have much time to linger on blissful memories of the past, not if Goodwin was to be believed and a dark future was indeed in the making.

A future where the Satellite is destroyed.

At the very least, his friends trusted and supported him, and he wouldn't put it past Crow to get up and duel alongside him.

But then again, just as he did, Crow had a lot to protect.

A smile formed on Yusei's lips as he watched Crow regale the children with the tale of the Daedalus Bridge, the once hope of the Satellite. The tale in which the D-wheel became a symbol of freedom and one man became a legend.

"But at least in me –" Crow began as he rose to finish the story.

"In here, he lives on!" he and the children ended.

And Yusei marvelled at the sight before him. That's what a legend did – inspire hope in the hearts of those who heard of them.

If only he were cut out for that.

* * *

"-And another thing, how could you _not_ tell me about you entering the Fortune Cup? I would have liked to know that my student was participating in a televised duel tournament beforehand and not find out the day you have your first duel."

I held the phone some distance away from my ear. Yuuto-sensei talked a lot once you got him started. But being berated by him was the least I deserved I supposed.

"What'd I'd like to know is what she thinks of the gifs that have been going around?" Yukio snickered in the background.

Ugh. I was on speaker.

But wait a moment. "What gifs?"

"Of your pale little tush being blown away by that girl, the Bloody Baroness."

I couldn't help but moan. People on the internet could be so cruel. Didn't they have better things to do? I also ignored the fact that he said Bloody Baroness instead of Black Rose Witch. It'd never catch on.

"And how many did you post?"

"Only nine…teen."

"You are such a brat!" I growled.

"Well, it's not as if you were crippled…?"

My lips quirked up, the brat was so could be subtle when he was ready.

"The Squirt didn't even get to duel using her D-wheel," came another grunt in the background.

"Oh no, _you_ don't get to speak to her _Old Man_." That was Yuuto-sensei's voice again. "You didn't say anything to either of us. You just shipped out the D-wheel without as much as a by-your-leave."

"Ya said it ya'self, I'm an old man," he grumbled. "I don't gotta report to ya."

I heard Yukio sigh into the phone as the sound of all too familiar quarrelling became distant.

"Those two never change," I announced fondly.

Yukio gave a noise of acquiesce. "They should be more mature – like us."

I found myself chuckling at what he said, and by the sound of it, so was he, though his laughter died away faster than I expected it to.

"That was some light show at the end though. Everything okay over there?"

I made a noise at the back of my throat. "Basically," I said as nonchalantly as I could.

Yukio was quiet for a moment. "Okay, if you say so," he chirped, "By the way what are you doing right now?"

"I'm heading off to bed. It's really late now. The twins are asleep, I should probably follow suit."

I was actually out by the pool of the twin's apartment, sitting on the bench. I felt we'd be a bit safer back in the Tops Residential Area and if Public Security had decided to show up, I'd have at least some notice beforehand. And there was no way I was going to let the twins stay in the Daimon Area longer than we had to.

"You probably should. By the way, how's your tall, girly-looking friend doing?"

My hand travelled to my necklace to trace the Yin symbol that hung from it. "…I don't know," I answered guiltily, "I was going to ask you actually."

He gave a small sigh. "I haven't heard from him. He's your friend you know."

 _'Then why'd you ask, you brat?'_

"I know," I said instead.

"…Well, I've got work in the morning, so I've gotta head out. You should get some rest too."

"Okay," I nodded, even though I knew he couldn't see me. I could have video-chatted them, but my bandages weren't entirely relinquished just yet.

I hung up the phone and just stared at it. It was the same one that Yoshi had given to me on our Graduation day.

I shuddered a bit as a cold wind suddenly picked up. I knew that I should probably head inside, but before that…I quickly brought up Yoshi's number and hit call.

It had been a month or so, give or take a few weeks since I had last spoke to him. I figured I might as well get all the berating behind me in one night.

 _"_ _The number you have dialled is not in service."_

Huh?

I tried again but got the same result.

I stared at the phone with raised brows. Looks like I have some berating of my own to do. He should have contacted me otherwise if something had happened to his phone.

He was always a bit of a klutz.

I got up and made my way inside the apartment. I'd just have to contact him using Kaiba-chat in the morning.

* * *

It seemed as if a peaceful night's sleep was going to become a rare commodity.

I definitely wasn't going to sleep throughout the night if I keep getting woken up by burning sensations in my arm.

 _'_ _On the bright side, I could be my own night light.'_

It didn't take long for my room door to burst open, Lua dragging Luca in by the arm.

"Nii-san…Yusei's fighting," Luca whispered.

It was weird, feeling _something_ on the other end of a connection that had…nothing for almost 2 decades.

I felt Yusei's…will? I wasn't sure, I didn't know how to describe it but, I knew that it was Yusei. He was tense, there was danger.

"Yeah, it's only just begun."

"What do we do Nii-san?" Lua asked as they huddled onto my bed.

They stared at me as if I had answers and I did. But not for every situation. Not for this situation.

"We wait."

The disappointed and pensive looks that passed over their faces only made me feel even more useless.

* * *

Monkey, Giant, Hummingbird, Lizard, Dog, Spider –

Those were the Nazca Lines that had disappeared thus far. That was weird, but what was weirder was Jack's explanation for it all.

'Dark Signers'. The name given to the arch nemesis of the Signers – the good guys, of which Jack was one of (Which was very cool). The Dark Signers were dangerous.

Thank goodness she was as far away from them as possible.

.

.

.

At least, that's what she wished was true.

She was really starting to question her sanity. Why had she gone along with Jack? She could have easily ignored the call that her home phone had received (in the middle of the night). She could have easily not open the window when the helicopter flew up to it (in the middle of the night). And she could have easily not gotten unto the helicopter (in the middle of the night).

But she did.

And now here she was. The worst part – Jack's assistant, who had greeted Carly with a glare and had proceeded to snub her.

How unprofessional.

At least that was Carly's nice way of phrasing it.

But she knew how this was. So if she sat a bit closer to Jack each time his assistant looked around, it was all in the name of the game. But she enjoyed it for reasons apart from making Jack's assistant jealous.

She…liked being near Jack. A faint blush spread across her face at the admission and she turned her head away from him to glance outside of the helicopter.

Or maybe she was just being vindictive because her sleep had been interrupted (Yeah, she liked that less complicated explanation).

But she _was_ severely sleep deprived. She had been up for the better part of the night, trying to catch up on work. Skive one day from work and you're up to your neck in paperwork.

Just her luck. But she had brought it onto herself, so she couldn't complain too much.

If she knew that this was what she'd have to deal with, she'd have thought twice about letting Jack stay with her.

…Okay she'd let him say either way. She'd definitely grown…attached. His presence wasn't all that bad and it was good to have a guy around, especially one who wore a sleeveless, skin-tight shirt when –

Carly shook her head. Why did she start thinking about Jack again?

…Sleep deprivation.

Right.

And what also surprised her was the fact that he glowed, well his arm did at least.

It was like a night light.

Carly groaned as she clutched her head. She faintly realized that it was not in its usual pony-tail. She hoped it didn't look too weird.

"What's the matter with you?" Jack snapped.

Carly groaned again. "Come on, give a girl a break. The New King actually being born in the Tops, disappearing Nazca Lines, Dark Signers, Zero Reverse not being an accident and M.I.D.S playing a major role in covering it up, it's a lot to take in only one plane ride towards certain danger," she listed off holding up a finger for each. She had tried to play it cool, but her voice ended up cracking during that latter part.

Her voice however, dropped to a mumble, "Although I always knew there was something going on. I knew there were inconsistencies in those records I checked."

The reporter in Carly had a field day every time she went through Public Security Records. She could read multiple files in a short time and process the information at the same speed, if not faster, to make links, inferences and conclusions where necessary.

And had she made inferences. But she didn't have the guts to do or say anything to any higher-ups. Because they most likely knew and she wasn't about to endanger her life by getting on Director's bad side.

She knew the Director knew that she knew, but she obviously didn't know enough to endanger his empire, so he kept her around. It definitely helped that she had actual talent for what she did.

Don't get her wrong though, although she wasn't disillusioned (anymore) by the man that was Rex Goodwin, she still knew that she owed him.

A sharp intake of breath drew her attention in front of her.

What she saw made gasp as well.

In the distance, an eerie, purple, glowing Nazca Line projected onto the clouds above.

How else would you respond to ominously glowing Nazca Lines that appear out of nowhere and project into the clouds above?

You know, aside from moving _away_ from it?

But they were moving closer to it due to Jack's insistence, because apparently Yusei was involved.

The two definitely had history that much was true.

She knew that she didn't have all the information. This right now, probably wasn't even scratching the surface of what was to come. But as much as she was freaking out…she didn't want to be left out, she didn't want to be left behind.

It was hard to explain, but somehow, she felt as if she belonged where she was…and wasn't that just weird.

Maybe it was her curiosity getting the better of her.

* * *

Which word described it the best?

Despair?

Fear?

Anguish?

Torment?

Hmmm, yes, perhaps that word worked best.

Torment.

That's what he had set out to do and he'd like to think that he'd just about accomplished that.

Buuuut if he ended it all now then he'd have nothing to do later. And how boring that would be. Kiryu…would rather prolong Yusei's suffering.

A crazed grin, wide and sharp spread across his face before an equally manic laughed escaped him.

Yes, he'd let his once-friend wallow for a while. Already, the agony coming off of him in waves delighted his soul. At least it would if he had one.

He had heard that the best way to kill a rat was to hang him up and watch him squirm and expend his energy. After that you cut him down and burn him.

When he had heard that in his time at the Detention Centre, he never expected he'd get to apply it. He never expected he'd enjoy applying it so much either.

So he probably wouldn't finish off the traitor today.

He could wait a little longer for his revenge.

* * *

The marks' glow faded, but I got this weird feeling. The bad kind of weird.

Lua gave a surprised shout as he peered at both mine and Luca's arms, "The birthmark is disappearing! Could something have happened to Yusei?"

"I have no clue, but for some reason…" Luca didn't have to finish her sentence for Lua and I to understand what she was implying.

I sighed deeply, resigned at what all this meant, knowing what all this meant.

"Go back to bed, both of you," I finally said after doing nothing but staring at the mark in my arm.

Twin cries sounded.

"But Nii-san-" Lua voiced before I raised a hand to stop him.

"We don't know what happened, and we can't do anything right now either. It's best to just go back to bed."

"But aren't you worried that something happened to Yusei?!" I was almost taking aback at the passion Lua spoke with. I just didn't get, how they could have gotten so attached to someone they hadn't known for very long.

"Worrying won't do anyone any favours," I spoke firmly, leaving no room for further argument, "Go to bed. We'll think of something to do in the morning."

With that I sank back into my bed, tossing the covers over my body as I turned my back to the twins. It was probably harsh of me to dismiss them in such a way, but I really wasn't up to coddling either of them tonight. I should probably stop coddling them overall. At this point, overprotecting them may do more harm than good.

"Nii-san." Luca's voice was a whisper. How much had these two come to depend on me? If I suddenly wasn't there – would they be okay?

"…Good night."

I was speaking more so to my thoughts than I was to the twins. I really didn't want to think anymore, I wanted a clear, blank mind. For once.

.

.

.

I couldn't fall asleep, no matter how hard I tried.

* * *

Not only did my night suck, my morning seemed as if it was only going to become worse. Having Spike and the Old Man show up out of nowhere wasn't exactly how I imagined the morning to start off.

Everyone's nerves were frayed, especially after hearing Luca share her dreams (nightmares). The Crimson Dragon and his faithful Dragon Commanders battling against the Ancient gods. It sounded like something out of an overrated CGI movie, one that would have me pointing out all of its shortcomings for the sake of making Lua and Luca burst out laughing.

All it was doing now though, was increasing the pressure on both the twins.

And speaking of pressure, my blood pressure was about to be shot up to the roof.

"No," I answered.

"Nii-san, Please?!" Lua pleaded. He and I stood in the middle of the living room, staring at each other, Luca, Spike and the Old Man looked on from a little distance away.

"Do you really think that I'm about to let you two just waltz into the Arcadia Movement Headquarters?!" I found myself actually hissing at him.

Aki would come around eventually. There was no need for either of them to get involved with _that_ man. 'That man' being the leader of the Arcadia Movement. He like so many others remained in memories buried too deep to be recovered, but the feeling that I got from him. I'd have to trust my feelings where memories failed, like in instances like this one.

We – Lua and I – seemed to be butting heads quite a bit lately.

"Do you even care that Yusei may be in danger right now? Are you even his friend?"

"I am his friend," I spoke as I held Lua's gaze, "But I care more about your safety than anything else."

"How can you say that?" Lua exclaimed.

"It's the same for him!" I snapped, my ire rising by the second. "Why do you think Yusei didn't stay? Because his friends in the Satellite mean a whole lot more to him than anyone here!"

Lua recoiled as if he were struck, "The only reason he came to the City was for those same friends. He's looking out for his own and all you can do is sing his praises. So why, when I'm trying to do the same as him, are you giving me heat?!"

I knew that what I said wasn't entirely true, that there was a lot more to the things that I said. But I was upset. At the whole ridiculousness of it all –

Lua thinking that he was the fifth Signer, everyone else indulging him, them coming up with the foolish plan to get Aki to 'co-operate' with us.

Was I bitter coming off of the duel a few days ago?

Barely, but 'yes' nonetheless.

"I've got an idea!" Yanagi chirped in false cheer, "How 'bout we all go get some breakfast? On Himuro?"

It took a sharp jab to the side from the Old Man for Himuro to not voice his complaint about being saddled with the tab.

"Fine," I huffed out. Maybe some fresh air would calm me down some.

* * *

"Nii-san really is worried about us Lua," Luca attempted to placate her twin as she sat on his bed. She, having already put on her usual clothes for the outing, watched him get ready.

Lua didn't reply.

"Maybe, the Arcadia Movement is as dangerous as everyone says. Maybe it's best that we don't get involved with them. I know that Aki-san's a Signer and all but maybe if-"

The slam of a drawer door caused Luca to cut herself off.

Luca bit her lip worriedly as she waited for her brother to speak.

"I…don't like the Arcadia Movement," he eventually began, "Because that lady hurt Nii-san, and Yusei. But I don't want to not like the Arcadia Movement, because that lady can help Nii-san and Yusei…and you too."

Luca could only see the back of her brother and it seemed as if he shouldered a weight so much bigger than him. Just as she did.

"I can't protect any of you right now…"

And to that, Luca had no reply.

* * *

We found a nice brunch place just outside of the Tops Residential Area. Well, actually Lua suggested it, having seen it in a brochure or something.

It really didn't matter to me. All I wanted for the moment was a small reprieve, a little peace if you will.

And I got just that, in the form of hot chocolate. Everyone else had already gulped down theirs. I took small sips of mine. Forget jewellery, money, cars, books – chocolate was a girl's best friend.

I paused in my drinking to observe the café. It was a really nice, duel monster themed café. I felt as if we ourselves were sitting in the VIP area. The two round tables that we occupied, were almost to the back of the café. It wasn't positioned so that we were solely isolated, but we were able to have a greater degree of privacy than any other area within the café offered.

The duel monster decorations weren't gaudy either. They were placed just at the right places too. Like the two Blue-eyes white dragon pictures that hung on the wall directly before her, just above Luca's head.

Just then Lua yawned loudly and soon after everyone around him followed suit. Yawns were contagious and I could speak for three of the five of us that were present that didn't get much (or any in my case) sleep last night.

When Lua yawned for the third time, I thought it best that we head back home.

"Let's –" I broke off in a yawn as well, but this time I felt my entire body sag.

 _'_ _Why do I feel so tired?'_

I looked over at Spike and the Old Man only to see them slumped over in their seats. I turned to my side to glance at Lua only to see his head on the table, his eyes shut. Luca was the same.

My stomach dropped as I made a concerted effort to look within my cup. I barely glimpsed small black dregs within the cup before it slipped from my weakened grasp.

"You're very resilient," the bemused comment reached my ears.

No longer able to keep myself upright, I fell forward, my head hitting the table with a small thud.

The last thing I heard before I lost consciousness –

A dark hollow chuckle, "That's a very good quality to have."

.

.

.

.

 _Tension wasn't the only thing running high...so were the stakes._

* * *

Word Count: 3632

A/N: This is update 2/2. I won't be posting another chapter for a while now. I may (keyword: _may_ ) post a Christmas themed chapter...which would be comprised purely of snapshots of friend/family time with Sky and the (Cannon and OC) crew. You can send me prompts of what you'd like to see but no promises k.

With that said and out of the way – Have a blessed holiday season everyone. Stay safe and healthy.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed/viewed/favourited/followed! Thanks for the support – 2015 has been an awesome year.

Constructive criticism/comments/questions/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

U.P.: Sign Out


	19. Chapter 19

I do not own Yugioh 5D's

Chapter 19- Plunge

\- _But I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep. And miles to go before I sleep_ -Robert Frost

* * *

This was the second time that I'd been kidnapped. Yet it still felt like a novel experience really.

I honestly felt like laughing. Out of hysteria of course.

It seemed as if Fate/Destiny was adamant about having its way in certain aspects of this life.

I had no doubt that we had been kidnapped by the Arcadia Movement.

Lua and Luca were in the hands of the Arcadia Movement, just as they had been in the original universe.

And apparently so was I.

I glanced around me. I had woken up in a small room, no doubt I was under surveillance. There was nothing in the room save for the bed I now sat on, a table with a jug (probably of water, not that I plan on drinking or eating anything they provided) and a television monitor attached to the wall.

The monitor screen flipped on. A man with red hair, not as bright as Aki's, and the coldest eyes I'd ever seen gazed at me, a smirk on his face. He seemed as if he was amused just by the fact that I was awake.

"Greetings, I am Divine."

What a mockery.

There was nothing heavenly about this man.

"You are the first of our visitors to awaken. As I said, resilience is a good quality to have," he intoned.

I tried as best as I could to keep a blank expression upon my face. I failed because as I began to speak to him, a sneer made its way onto my face. "What do you want and where are my friends?"

"Such a scary expression," he said lightly. I nearly snarled at him.

He held up his hand as if to mollify my anger.

Suddenly the screen split in half. His face remained on one half while the other half had split into three. I tensed as I saw three different images.

At the top was the image of some kind of basement, where I saw the bodies of the Old Man Yanagi and Spike sprawled out on the ground.

The one below that saw Luca out cold on a bed, but she wasn't in the room alone. I saw a clear side view of a particular red-head that I hadn't seen since the duel between Yusei and Jack during the Fortune Cup.

The final image made my blood run cold. It showed one half of a duel field. On the floor was Lua, collapsed. He had some kind of device strapped to his head and…he was chained.

"What kind of creep are you? How dare you imprison and chain people? Even children?"

In any life there were these types of people that were absolute scum. The types that harmed children, emotionally, physically. Every country may not have a literal war to fight outside of its borders, but sure enough, every country had a war to fight within them.

Against those types of people.

The man before me only smiled coldly.

"You see people, but I see tools. Tools that I can use to turn this disgusting world on its head. This world that abandoned…people like me." His voice was so hollow. I blanched.

He cleared his throat. "My motives weren't what I came here to discuss. I came to tell you to prepare yourself. After I finish testing the boy's potential, I'll be testing you. I have no doubt that you hold a power similar to Aki's."

"Isn't it enough that you've managed to brainwash Aki?" I felt sick. "Lua doesn't have any powers. He's not a Signer."

"Signer?" I watched as Divine's eyes lit up in fascination and I nearly bit my tongue. He didn't know. He'd never met with Lua and the others for them to tell him of the Signers and Dark Signers.

"Is that what you, Luca and Aki are? Signers." When I didn't reply, he chuckled. "No matter, when the boy wakes up I'll hear what I need to know."

"Are you going to torture him?" I asked contemptuously.

"Persuade," he added smoothly. "And it's not as if I'll have to try too hard. He was the one who contacted me."

 _'_ _Lua had?!'_

"Oh you didn't know?" Divine said in false surprise.

"Don't worry, I'll teach him a lesson for you."

The monitor shut off immediately and all I could do was sit there frozen.

When my brain finally seemed to catch up with what he had said, I jumped out of bed.

"Don't hurt him! He's got nothing to do with this!" I started banging on the door. A futile attempt, but…I couldn't find it in myself to stop.

* * *

 **'** **Stop it!'**

Yusei gasped as he shot up from the bed. He immediately regretted the action, as a sharp pain shot through him. He clutched his mid-section as he took slow deep breaths.

He glanced at the mark on his right arm as his thoughts raced a mile a minute.

That shout that had woken him up…it had sounded like – Skylar?

Throwing the bed covers off of his body, he slowly turned and got off of the bed. He absently grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head before he went outside of the house.

Opening the door to the front yard, he stopped and called out, "Saiga!"

He hoped the man was still there.

"Shouldn't you be recuperating?" a voice from behind him spoke and sure enough when he turned there was the info-man he sought.

He stopped himself from flinching at the thought of how he had gotten the wounds. Instead, he spoke, "Can you get a call through to the City? To Himuro and the others?"

"Bad feeling?" the man asked, face serious.

"Something like that."

"…It's gonna take a while for me to set up my equipment. Go back to bed and rest. I'll call you when I'm done."

Yusei nodded and did as advised. But he really hoped that the voice he had heard in his head was nothing but a product of his addled brain and not an indication that his friends were in danger.

Because if they were, he knew that as he was now, he wouldn't be able to save them.

* * *

Carly held her breath as she hid within a small alcove. She tried to make herself as small as possible as yet another group of guards passed.

 _'_ _Just how many of times are these guys going to walk the same floor?'_ she wondered, dishevelled.

But then again sneaking into a building, the Arcadia Movement Headquarters no less, had never promised to be easy.

But there was nothing else left for her to do. Carly sighed as she sank to the floor. She hugged her knees as memories of the night before flitted through her mind.

Flashback

 _The helicopter landed on the landing pad of the Public Security's Head Building. Jack was the first to exit, no doubt eager to make preparations to return to the Satellite and seek out his friend._

 _Thankfully it seemed as if Yusei had survived the fall he had taken and Carly marvelled at how lucky he was. If it hadn't been for Yusei's D-wheel giving out when it did, he'd have borne the brunt of that giant monster's attack and…well he may not have survived that attack._

 _Carly was the last person to exit the Helicopter and she was surprised to find that Jack and Mikage (his assistant) had not left the roof, but were in fact waiting for her approach, it seemed. Actually, it was more of who they were with._

 _"_ _Nagisa-san," the person greeted and Carly felt a shiver run up her spine._

 _"_ _Director," she automatically replied, bowing slightly in greeting._

 _"_ _Thank you for accommodating Jack for these past few days. You've done the Public Security a kind service."_

 _Carly stiffened even more. She had a bad feeling as to where this was all going. "I didn't do –"_

 _Goodwin cut her off._

 _"_ _You even went as far as to accompany him to the Satellite in the middle of the night. Truly you have gone above and beyond your station." He gave a small bow._

 _Carly had to bite her tongue to keep herself from replying, because she knew that despite his sayings, they were just vacant pleasantries. Hollow utterances to the tongue that spoke them meant to be sugar-coated assurances to the ears that heard them._

 _Unless you knew what to look for._

 _And Carly knew what to look for. She'd been working under him for quite some time now. In fact part of her was offended that he was attempting to entangle her within his web of words._

 _Carly wished he'd get to the point already._

 _"_ _However,"_

 _And there it was._

 _"_ _It would be best if you…distance yourself from Atlas-san for the time being."_

 _"_ _But Director," she began to protest._

 _He simply raised his hand, silencing her._

 _"_ _This is a matter that you would best not concern yourself with. And whatever you may have seen or heard, it would be best if that remains confidential. I'm sure you understand the gravity of the situation we now have at hand."_

 _His tone left no room for question. It left no room to do anything else but comply._

 _Biting her lip, she gave a slow, reluctant nod._

 _"_ _Good," he paused for a brief moment, "And I also believe that it would be best if you take the rest of the day off."_

 _With that, Goodwin turned on his heels and made his way back into the building._

 _Carly clenched her fists as she glared at the ground._

 _A hand suddenly coming to rest on her head made her look up._

 _"_ _J-jack."_

 _That's right, if she left now, who knew when she'd be able to see him again. Even though he hadn't been with her that long, he was a much needed improvement in her drab life._

 _"_ _T-take me with you to the Satellite. I want to go. I want to help you." Her lips moved by their own volition. What was she saying?_

 _She saw something, some emotion flicker across Jack's face, before he smoothed out his expression._

 _"_ _Thank you for the hospitality."_

 _Carly's eyes widened slightly._

 _'_ _Jack, will you tell me to leave too?'_

 _"_ _I must go," Jack continued. "Don't venture any deeper into this affair."_

 _Carly didn't know why, but her chest suddenly felt as if someone was slowly squeezing her heart. She hadn't felt so when Goodwin had told her that, but now Jack…_

 _"_ _This is the fate of a Signer. You wouldn't be able to handle this."_

 _Carly shook her head. There was no way she was going to let him continue._

 _"_ _I want to know the truth too!"_

 _'_ _I don't want to be left alone. Why can't you stay?'_

 _Jack looked at her for a while before turning his back to her._

 _"_ _When it's all over, I promise to tell you everything. Just stay out of this for now."_

 _"_ _Jack!" she called as he began to walk away. Why did she…not want him to leave?_

 _He paused in his departure. "I…want you to be safe."_

 _And just like that he left, without so much as a backwards glance._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _"_ _But I want to be by your side."_

End Flashback

She'd…gotten a taste. Of Forbidden fruits – perhaps.

Jack Atlas had become entwined in her life in the most unconventional of ways, but she had been happy. For the first time in a long while, she had felt happy.

Even though she virtually housed him, fed him and (as embarrassing as it had been) went to get his clothes cleaned, she'd been happy.

He wasn't an associate whom she had to be all smiles with. He wasn't one of her derisive co-workers who tried to take advantage of her.

He was real, he was there.

He…was her friend (Though she was pretty sure that at this point he meant a bit more than that).

But this wasn't just about Jack either.

The bottom line was that, she didn't want to go back to her bland desk job.

She didn't hate her job. It was just that…she felt so empty, so unaccomplished. Like she wasn't meant to be doing that.

It was almost as if she had somehow veered from her intended path and now, she just couldn't remain in her skin with where she was.

This – everything – Dark Signers, 5000 year old wars, Organizational conspiracies.

She needed more, she hungered for it.

She needed to fill the void that had become oh so apparent, oh so suddenly.

The last of the guards had finally gone. In retrospect she probably should have wait until it was darker. The sun had only just about set. But it was too late to turn back now.

Carly made her way further down the hall, only to stop in front of the only double sided door on the entire floor.

This was it. This was the room.

She'd overheard some of the guards talking about this being Divine's Office. The Arcadia Headquarters was more than a dozen stories high (and it wasn't as if she could've taken the elevator either). Divine's office was about 5 floors from the top.

She bit her bottom lip as she stared at the handle before slowly reaching out to clasp it. She'd heard so many things about the Arcadia Movement – none of them good. This was a dangerous idea.

Did she dare take that plunge?

Her eyes steeled as she turned the handle. She swiftly and silently entered the room, closing the door gently behind her.

She'd already tendered her resignation anyway.

* * *

Luca looked on, petrified at the still, prone body of her brother. Lua had been about to win the duel, but it had taken so much out of him, that he hadn't even been able to follow through with his final attack.

"Pity," the man, Divine intoned impassively. "Not an ounce of Psychic ability."

Luca couldn't help but glare fiercely at the man.

The man before her, who had eyes as cold as the frozen tundra Nii-san had taught them about, had put her brother through proverbial hell. To subject a child to such harsh experimentations. She didn't care for whatever explanation he'd offered her.

This was all for his own motives.

No amount of coercing or sugar-coated words would change her mind. She would never duel for this man.

Not when she had so many other persons worthy to protect. Those persons stood by her and protected her and someday….she would do the same.

Luca…truly felt sorry for Aki-san.

How abandoned and lost and desolate had she felt that she needed to turn to such a person for comfort…for acceptance.

"I've got persons like Lua, Nii-san, Yusei," she began, her voice wavering a bit, but no matter how intimidated she was she'd make her thoughts known clearly, "I don't need the Arcadia Movement to accept me."

Something miserable and deep and _hurtful_ flashed in Aki-san's eyes. "…Even those who you consider family, will eventually come to fear you."

Without further Aki-san turned on her heels and exited the room. Divine turned to follow her out, but not before saying his final piece.

"I'm sure your 'Nii-san' will put up a better duel than your brother did."

It seemed an unnecessary, if not vindictive statement to make. But Luca understood what he meant well enough.

As he exited the room, she turned back to look at her unconscious sibling.

The corner of her eyes burned with tears despite herself. The same wouldn't happen to her Nii-san…would it?

She wouldn't have to watch Skylar go through the same thing Lua did…right?

Luca didn't want anyone else to get hurt…not while all she could do was stand and watch. She needed to be stronger. She wished she were stronger. She couldn't do this by herself – not as she was now.

She needed help.

Luca clenched her eyes shut.

 _'Ancient Fairy Dragon…Please help me! Help me! Please help me to protect them!'_

Would her prayers be heard?

More than that – would her prayers be answered?

* * *

Her fortune hadn't been all that good today.

Carly must have triggered some kind of silent alarm. She should have expected that at least. She had after all entered the Head of the Movement's office. The office, though, was like a trove of secrets (to think the Director had such a past. To think that he and the Arcadia Movement had that kind of connection), but she just may have bitten off more than she could chew.

Carly was out of her league, probably, both with the information she had found and the duel she currently found herself in.

Psychic duelists were no joke and the pain was very real – that's what she had heard. And though Carly was trying her best, she felt that her moves were child's play to the combinations that Divine came up with.

And Carly was terrified.

She felt as if…she was dueling for her life.

Her back was against the wall. She felt as if she was being pushed closer to edge.

She…she felt as if she may really die. Would that man though? Would the man who went by the name of Divine really allow her to die? Would he really…kill her?

Did her life – a human life – mean so little?

"I'll destroy your Good Fortune Miracle Stone!"

Carly knew that she was about to get her answer.

Her Fortune Fairies were all back to 0 Attack Points. Carly's mind worked to think of a counter.

 _"_ _Maybe if I –"_

"Go, Telekiattacker!"

Carly was blown back. Before she knew it, her entire body was pressed and stuck up against the glass just behind her. Carly felt her head spin.

"This is the force of a Psychic Duel."

Wait had she said that or was that Divine?

She was granted no reprieve to think further on it.

"Psycho Whorled!"

Her second monster was destroyed and Carly could do nothing short of scream as her body was electrified. Her flesh burnt, she felt as if her blood was boiling.

Though, through all the pain, Carly was very away of the fragile state of the glass she was pressed against. She could hear it cracking.

If he attacked her one more time…!

"You can't do this!" And they both knew what she meant.

Carly didn't want to die. Not yet.

She hadn't even been able to have a proper First Love.

A cold, condescending smile crossed his face (At least she imagined so. She couldn't really see what with her vision so blurred) as he called for his final monster to attack.

"Farewell."

Amidst the pain of the attack, the glass shattered – Carly felt herself falling.

 _–"_ _I can see the shadow of death about you"_ _–_

She…really was about to die – her life was flashing before her eyes.

 _–"_ _Why do you wear such tacky glasses?"_ _–_

That was Jack's voice.

 _–"_ _This apartment's small, but it'll do."_ _–_

Jack.

 _–"_ _In the future be careful who you let stay with you. There're a lot of creeps out there."_ _–_

Jack.

 _–"_ _I suppose you're not much of a lapdog after all."_ _–_

Jack.

 _–"_ _I…want you to be safe."_ _–_

Tears fell from Carly's eyes as her vision darkened and her body became numb.

Carly spoke weakly, "But I want to be by your –"

.

.

.

 _Naigasa Carly – Life Points: 0_

* * *

Word Count: 3217

* * *

A/N: I know that it's a bit late but...better late than never.

Warning: The following snapshots may present an admittedly sappier side of Skylar (and some OOC). It is a result of the Christmas Feels.

Christmas Snapshots

– _Each friend represents a world in us – A world possibly not born until they arrive; And it is only by this meeting that a new world is born_ – Anais Nin

* * *

Title: Of Costumes

Time-line: During Origin Arc; Skylar 11 years old

Start

"Well don't you look adorable," Mrs. Fukui cooed.

My lips twitched into a reluctant smile as I tried to ignore my attachments. They weren't noticeable really – the fuzzy antlers on my head and the belt with the tail attached to it added no extra weight to my body.

I could have gone without out the custom made apron though.

Donning the 'Mrs. Claus' Little Helper' (Because hey, Mrs. Claus needed some respect for what she did – whatever that was…), I bustled about Mrs. Fukui's kitchen.

The least I could do was help her prepare the Christmas Dinner. They were having me over and on short notice – my Aunt ended up not being able to make it back into the City in time.

Mrs. Fukui didn't have any girls and absolutely loved dressing me up in some interesting ensembles…when I conceded to her whims. This was one of those times.

My only saving grace was that the Brat was out with his father and Mrs. Fukui promised that I could get rid of the ears and tail as soon as we were finished. Which would be soon –

"Mom, I'm home!" the Brat's voice sounded from the living room and I cringed. "Dad is talking with a…"

As the Brat spoke he had walked into the kitchen and upon seeing me he trailed off.

A loud snort soon erupted from the 12 year old boy before he was clutching his sides as he laughed.

I frowned at him before a sudden idea came to mind. I smirked spitefully at him.

"Of course you can help us in the kitchen Yukio-kun. It would make us so happy," I began sweetly as Mrs. Fukui re-entered the kitchen, "You can even wear your own costume. We'd be matching set."

I may have overdone it with a squeal at the latter part of my spiel but what I had set out to do had been accomplished. In no time flat, Fukui ended up in the kitchen similarly clad as I was. The only difference was that his apron had – 'Guess Who's Leading Santa's Sleigh Tonight?'.

I snickered at the put out expression on Fukui's face. Alas, my victory was short lived. The Brat taking his new outfit in stride, proceeded to open his mouth every twenty seconds, just to speak to me about things that made absolutely no sense.

"So," he began conversationally (again), "Which Reindeer are you?"

My nose twitched in annoyance as I narrowed my gaze at him. That was it.

"…Kicker."

"Wait wha – ow!"

I smirked as I walked away from Fukui, leaving him clutching his shin.

End

Word Count: 434

* * *

Title: Hospital Visit

Time-line: During Origin Arc; Skylar 14 years old

Start

I frowned worriedly at the sight of Mike's comatose body. Of all the times for the Old Man to collapse – it just _had_ to be on Christmas Day.

He really needed to stop working himself so hard. Kami knows he wasn't doing his body any favours.

"Stop that hov'ring," Mike's strained grunt surprised me a bit. He was supposed to be out for at least another hour or so.

I jumped from the chair by his bedside upon seeing him begin to sit up.

"What are you doing in the hospital on Christmas Day Old Man?" I mumbled as I helped him up. The hospital…just didn't seem like the right sort of place for someone as strong as Mike.

He gave a short chuckle. "For once I feel like the 'Old Man' you and The Kid always call me."

He looked it too – he looked haggard, weary.

But I smiled nonetheless as I handed him some water. Even in such a situation, he could still make jokes. I was thankful that all it was, was a ruptured appendix and not something even more grievous.

"Speaking of Kid, where'd he get to?"

"I'm right here Old Man," Yuuto-sensei drawled as he sauntered into the room, carrying a small package in his hand. "I brought pudding. You just had to go and cause me trouble on Christmas didn't you?"

"Is that any way to talk to ya sick old man?"

Yuuto-sensei let out a snort of disbelief displaying exactly what he thought of what he just heard.

Mike shook his head as his lips quirked upwards into a small smirk. The corner of his eyes crinkled and I sighed with relief at the fact that he seemed to be mostly back to his snappy self.

"Anyway go an' get the Squirt out ta here. Go get dinner or whatev'r," the Old Man spoke up, "No sense in all three of us spendin' the entire night here."

I shook my head. "I'm fine here," I spoke up, "Besides, it makes even less sense for you to stay here by yourself."

I was pleased at the fact that my statement had sounded less sappy out loud than it did in my head.

Yuuto-sensei beamed at me before he nodded. "Well it's decided then, we're spending the rest of Christmas here."

He placed the pudding onto his father's lap before he spun around to leave the room once more. "Looks like we're eating cafeteria food for now."

"Wait, I'll come with you Sensei."

As I spun around to follow him I could have sworn I heard the Old Man mumble something along the lines of, "Idiot kids" – albeit affectionately.

As Yuuto and I exited the room I distantly heard the sound of Mike rummaging through the box he was given.

Soon, Mike's voice sounded throughout the hallway.

"Ya damn Kid, ya know I hate chocolate pudding!"

I snickered as Yuuto huffed, a smirk on his face.

"That'll teach him for making me worry – especially on Christmas Day."

End

Word Count: 502

* * *

Title: Mistletoe

Time-line: During Origin Arc; Skylar – 15 years old

Start

"I hate mistletoes," I grumbled as I trudged towards the D.M.I. I buried my face deeper into the scarf that I wore.

My ears twitched as I picked up the sound of snickers. I snapped my head to the left and glared at the person who walked beside me.

"Shut up!" I frowned as I pushed that person away from me.

Yukio Fukui allowed himself to fall into the cushiony pile of snow on the ground, his snickers unrelenting.

"You should have seen your face Kame-chan!"

"This is all your fault you brat!" I retorted as I kicked snow into his face. I was never going to hear the end of this – those troublesome twins were forever going to be on my case.

Yukio took deep breaths as he sat up. "It was an accident…kind of," he spoke weakly.

I huffed before I began to walk away from the Brat's fallen form. He scrambled up from the ground and ran to catch up to me.

"I didn't mean to push you…so hard!"

I rolled my eyes, refusing to acknowledge him as the two of us finally entered the DMI shop. Of all the rotten luck. I paused at the counter to glare back at Fukui.

"What did you do now Yukio-kun?" the amused voice of Yuuto-sensei sounded from behind.

I felt my cheeks warm and I grit my teeth.

"Say a word and –"

"She and that Prince girl ended up lip locking under the mistletoe!"

I launched myself at Fukui, or at least I was about to when I felt two slender hands firmly grip my upper arms.

"No tussling in the shop Sky-chan," I was reproached.

The brat had come to my class, mistletoe in hand, intent on causing havoc – and he had succeeded.

Once Yuuto-sensei's hold on me was relinquished, I turned to look at him, hoping he saw the look of betrayal on my face.

With a chuckle he ruffled my hair. "You'll be alright Sky-chan."

I opened my mouth to protest but before I could utter a word, Yuuto-sensei stretched over the counter and I felt moist, warm lips press against my right cheek in a quick, light peck.

I froze in surprise as I felt my entire body warm.

Yuuto-sensei gave me a bright smile before he pointed upwards. I glanced in the direction he pointed only to see a spring of mistletoe above us.

"One of the workers put it there. You didn't notice?" he spoke with a wink, "I thought I taught you to be more observant."

"Still hate mistletoe Kame-chan?" Fukui snickered from wherever he was in the shop.

I felt the very tip of my ears burn as I buried my face deeper within my scarf. I was honestly at a loss for words.

End

Word Count: 475

* * *

Title: Of Comfort

Time-line: During Origin Arc; Skylar 16 years old

Start

"What do you want for Christmas?" Yoshi asked me. The two of us were nestled by the fire-place of his expanse living room.

"My two front teeth," I answered with a nostalgic sort of smile.

"…Excuse me?"

My shoulders shook as I suppressed my laughter at Yoshi's confused expression.

The mirth died down quickly though and I sighed wistfully as I watched the embers of the flame flicker and dance.

"I want this feeling of peace and goodwill toward men to be around longer than just a day – to be longer than just a month."

Yoshi hummed contemplatively. "Why?"

Because – because then the future I've seen wouldn't have to exist. If there was no evil, if there was no chaos, if only peace reigned then…

I sighed.

"Because," I answered simply.

I relaxed in the ensuing silence – it was pretty comfortable. I loved and appreciated how Yoshi was able to sense my moods and adjust accordingly. The silence he offered – it was patient and understanding. Yoshi had never been one to push me for answers. He merely waited until I was ready.

"Would you like to tell me a story?" Yoshi asked after some time, though I wasn't sure how much time, had elapsed. "What about that story about the…Ginch?"

"The Grinch," I corrected as I sat up a bit straighter, "How about I tell you about how Grandma got run over by a Reindeer instead? She was walking home from our house Christmas Eve. You –"

"– Wait, are you placing yourself in this story?"

"Shush, don't interrupt," I grinned, "Or I won't tell you anymore stories about Frosty the Snowman."

Yoshi's nose crinkled. "I liked the story with Olaf the snowman better."

I rolled my eyes but grinned widely at what I was going to say next:

"Let it go Yoshi, Let it go."

End

Word Count: 306

* * *

Title: Cake

Time-line: During Pre-World Racing Grand Prix Arc

Start

"Um, guys are you sure you put in the right ingredients the right way?" I asked as I read over the instructions.

Luca, Aki and I were the only ones in the twins' apartment. Lua had long since gone over to Yusei's garage, claiming that it would be good to have some bro time.

Luca had suddenly come up with the idea of surprising them all with a cake for the Christmas holiday.

"We're all family now, we should do special things for each other," she had said, her gaze full-blown and hopeful. After hearing that how could I not have complied?

"I'm sure we did," Aki answered as she glanced at the paper in my hand.

"Then why is the batter dark brown?"

"We're making a cake, Nii-san," Luca answered as she gave me a confused look.

"…But these are instructions for Vanilla flavoured cake…" I mumbled.

I placed a hand on my chin contemplatively, "…Maybe we should just buy them ice-cream?"

At Aki's and Luca's questioning gazes, I just shook my head dismissively. Hopefully it would taste okay.

Break

As it was, the cake did not taste 'okay'.

I watched as Lua, Yusei, Jack and Crow sat around the small coffee table, each with a half-eaten slice of cake before them.

It wasn't that hard to make out that the cake tasted terrible even if the guys went out of their way to assure us.

"It's not every day Nii-san or Luca bakes cakes," Lua announced, a twitchy sort of smile on his face.

"It's edible," Jack had said after the first bite, bringing the coffee cup to his mouth way too quickly.

"I've never had cake quite like this before," Crow 'complimented' a bit too loudly.

Apparently Jack thought so too. "Less is more Crow. Shut up and eat."

This of course, spurred Crow and the two ended up more or less at each other's throat. My lips quirked into a smile at the sight.

Amongst the noise, Yusei turned towards us.

"Thanks for the cake girls," he smiled as he nodded in appreciation.

And even though we all had caught on to the fact that the cake tasted… _off_ , I couldn't help but return the smile.

I glanced over in the direction of Aki and Luca and saw that they wore similar expressions of happiness and satisfaction – all things considered.

"…Seriously though next time we're just going to buy them ice-cream."

End

Word Count: 403

* * *

A/N: I don't like how some of the drabbles turned out but...meh. Anyway I hope everyone is having a safe and joyous holiday season thus far! 2016 is only a few days away, I hope you all continue to enjoy and support this fic!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed/viewed/favourited/followed!

Constructive criticism/comments/questions/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Let me know what you think of the OC's, the flow of the story/plot thus far.

Thanks for reading.

U.P.: Sign Out


	20. Chapter 20

I do not own Yugioh!5D's

Chapter 20- The Power of Vengeance

— _I am not now_  
 _That which I have been_ — George Byron

* * *

Vengeance.

Death had awarded her the chance for Vengeance.

Her body no longer ached – but thrummed with power so potent that her very blood sang, thrilled.

The Power that exuded from her body as if it were a second skin – it begged to be used.

And what better to use it than in the name of Vengeance.

That man – _Divine_.

She would show him the same kindness that he had shown to her – in full measure.

She would make Divine repent.

He had committed many sins – he was a disgrace to his name.

Divine was a blight.

Divine was guilty.

She would make him pay.

She would send his body to the grave and offer his mangy soul to her god.

* * *

Chaos.

The one word that completely captured what was happening around me.

One moment I was sitting on the edge of the bed – anticipating the arrival of Divine or his goons or both he and his goons for them to take me off to wherever Lua had been when he was duelling.

Lua. Was he okay?

And Luca. How was she feeling?

I didn't appreciate this new-found state of helplessness. It didn't suit me.

But I digress – the tense, almost suffocating atmosphere around me shifted as I sensed the advent and exponential growth of a sinister presence.

I was becoming hypersensitive to dark presences – to Dark Signers.

Then the very walls around me began to tremble as the lights flickered on and off.

An Earthquake – the very least of what was to come.

I moved to crouch by the wall closest to the bed – away from the monitor and table – clasping my hands over my head as I braced myself.

The earthquake increased in magnitude and I vaguely heard the sound of the jug falling to the ground and bulbs bursting and the sound of circuits sizzling.

I had wanted to stay away from all this.

But it was becoming increasingly obvious that somethings would just not change, no matter what I did. That made sense though. At least somethings, some events, some of them should at the very least run their course.

But who got to decide which events did?

Was it me? The Crimson Dragon? Fate? Destiny?

Just…whose Will was all of this according to?

* * *

The building had been evacuated or was in the process of being evacuated.

Probably.

After the earthquake was over. I tried to escape the room I had been confined in. My efforts were fruitless.

I didn't exactly have the strength of ten men, or a wrecking ball.

My limbs were slender and powerless. I admittedly needed to focus more on my health and fitness.

But the fact still remained that I had to remain where I was – in the dark, surrounded by pieces of broken glass.

I had to remain as I was – stuck.

* * *

Luca's marked glowed brightly as the ground shook for a second time. Luca found herself bracing against the wall farthest from the glass screen that separated her and her brother.

The first Earthquake hadn't woken him up – then again it seemed as if they weren't bearing the brunt of the tremors – which was probably due to the fact that they were on a high level (she thinks so at least).

And not for the first time Luca thought of her Nii-san. She hoped that she was safe. She wondered if Skylar-nii-san was above or below the floor she and Lua were currently on.

She really wished that Skylar-nii-san was with her. She wished even more that Lua would wake up.

Today really had been too much.

They'd been kidnapped. Her brother had been forced into a duel that had caused him pain and all she had done (could have done) was stand and watch and pray to Ancient Fairy Dragon to help her, to help them.

Ancient Fairy Dragon was someone strong, someone wise.

She'd know what to do.

The most comforting thing to happen to Luca was that Ancient Fairy Dragon had given her a response – it meant that she was listening. Even if the response hadn't been relevant to the here and now, Luca had appreciated it.

As the Earthquake finally subsided, Luca rose from her crouch to peer over at her brother. Fortunately he was unscathed.

Luca absently clutched her mark – her Signer Mark. It burned but not as much as previous times.

She felt something else though. It was as if a wild torrent had been set loose at the other end of whatever connection existed because of the Mark. It was panicky and murky, and Luca was getting all sort of emotions. Did those emotions belong to one person?

Or was it possible that what she was feeling was the collective emotions of the Signers?

 _"_ _Does this mean that, I can somehow communicate with Nii-san?!"_

There were so many questions. At least the thing that she was absolutely sure of was the fact that someone with the Crimson Dragon's Mark was facing a Dark Signer and in the very building if the feeling was correct – which it probably was.

That meant that they needed to leave the Arcadia Movement Building now more so than ever.

Luca grabbed her mark, squeezing her eyes shut and hoping and hoping that they'd all somehow be delivered from whatever dark, vengeful beings lurked among them.

Luca was broken out of her stupor at the sound of the room door being banged down.

"Uncle Himuro!" she exclaimed upon seeing the man fall into the room.

"Luca-chan!" the relieved voice of Yanagi called to her.

"Yanagi-oji-chan!" she spoke, just as relieved as she enveloped the old man in a welcomed hug.

"It's okay kiddo," Yanagi muttered as he patted her head. "Things'll get better real soon."

Luca's grip on the old man's clothing tightened.

Soon couldn't be soon enough.

* * *

Most persons would think that she had it all.

She had beauty.

She had elegance.

She had fame.

She had fortune.

But in truth, she was empty.

She had nothing – nothing of real worth.

She'd lost the only thing in her life worth living for that accursed day when her brother was taken from her.

Well…that wasn't necessarily true. She did eventually find something worth living for.

Something she sacrificed her soul for.

"Misty-sama, it is time to find the Black Rose Witch," a smooth baritone voice to her right announced.

Or rather something she sacrificed _their_ souls for.

"Go and prepare the Chopper. I'll be back shortly."

It was finally time to extract a measure of her revenge.

* * *

The beginning of another earthquake. The glowing and subsequent burning of my mark – the sign that a Dark Signer has commenced a duel with a Signer.

At this point though, the thing that was most clear to me – I'd had enough of all the frickin' earthquakes.

Granted the second one had caused the lock on my door to short circuit – thus allowing me to exit the room without much more fanfare.

I glanced down at my right arm.

Aki was in a duel. I didn't know how long it would last.

The hall that I was in was dark and empty. There were cracks in the wall and there was no telling what another earthquake would do.

Moments later, I felt like I jinxed myself somehow.

Just as I'd gotten to one of the lower levels, my mark flared particularly bright. My arm pulsed as my head was assaulted with…cries and screams – desperate and scared.

It was a summoning. A summoning of Immortals.

I gasped as I clutched my head – that was where the greater pain was.

Souls…people…something unnatural was happening, something other worldly – dark and menacing and suffocating.

Lights, so many lights were being consumed by the Darkness.

Somehow I was seeing the unseen and I was…hearing so much.

I think I blacked out for a full 5 minutes. I did nothing but lie on the ground and feel and flounder. All of this…was detrimental to my health.

How was I expected to fight and defend if I ended up debilitated without even directly facing a Dark Signer?

I needed to find a way to cope. And soon.

The shaking of the building renewed full force and to my immense relief, the pressure in my head abated slowly, but surely.

But my troubles weren't over.

The building was collapsing. I needed to get out.

I knew that the twins would somehow get out – Himuro was with them and I trusted him to do what needed to be done.

"H-help," a weak moan sounded from the rubble not far from me. How…fortunate I had been – that while I was quasi-incapacitated, whatever pieces of stone, concrete that fell didn't fall on me.

I carefully rose from my position on the floor. I made sure that I was steady on my feet before slowly making my way over to the rubble. There was a gaping hole in the ceiling above. Had someone fallen through? And survived?

I became stoned faced at what I saw.

It was Divine…and he was trapped.

The right side of Divine's body was almost completely under the pile of large stones.

And there was blood, his blood.

Huh, I never saw many scenes like the one before me when I had been watching from the other side.

"Help me," he groaned, his voice strained and raspy. I doubted that he could see me. I doubted that he could see just who he was requesting aid from.

Aid. Help.

 _'_ _Should I help him?'_

.

.

.

.

I…really didn't want to. It's not that I didn't see a reason to – any 'decent' human being would save him, regardless of what he'd done…right? As many would say – a life no matter how it was lived was still a life.

Then again…

I gazed at the man's partially crushed form once more. Then again, my moral compass had become particularly skewered these days.

My gaze narrowed and I scowled as I thought of his gross misdeeds. It was so easy to get mad (understatement) at this man.

"I can't say that you don't deserve this." I heard myself say aloud. It was as if his sins were catching up to him.

He deserved to be as he was now. And…was this not his destiny?

And who was I to play Kami? Who was I to meddle?

 _'_ _Hypocrite.'_ My own mind hissed.

I smiled crookedly. "I guess I'm not as morally sound as I make myself out to be." I was talking to myself more than anybody else really.

Perhaps that girl from that other life would have thought differently and would be doing differently.

But I wasn't quite that girl any more now was I?

"Goodbye…Divine."

With that I turned and ran.

* * *

Misty watched – one part apathetic, two parts sympathetic – as the young girl stumbled to the ground. She had no doubt remembered all that she had done when she had availed herself to be used by her new found powers.

Misty thought that she had done the world a favour. If Carly hadn't gotten rid of Divine, Misty herself would have.

The lives of many people were now better because of the blight's removal.

Misty smirked to herself – just as many more lives would be better once she finally lynched the Black Rose Witch.

But to the matter at hand.

Carly.

The girl wasn't as easily accepting of her destiny as she had been. The girl's broken spirit called out to her own.

"Carly," she began as she walked towards the fallen girl, "This is all your destiny."

 _'_ _The sooner you accept it the better_.'

"You were chosen, just as we were."

Misty watched as a tear-stricken face peered up desperately at her.

"Chosen?"

Misty found herself smiling. Carly reminded her so much of _him._

"Yes, we have won the favour of the God of Death. The moment Death came to visit you, you wished with all your might not to die –"

 _'_ _Just as I had.'_

"– Those gods have granted our wishes."

The tears that spilled from Carly's eyes increased as she registered what Misty was telling her. Misty crouched to her level, holding the girl's gaze as she did so.

"We are no longer residents of this world."

"N-no!" Carly choked out. "I-it's not true!"

Misty watched as she wept and sobbed and bawled. She placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It's a lot to take in right now, I understand," she spoke softly, "But give it time, you too will soon realize – your destiny."

Before Misty could say another word, Carly jumped into her embrace, wrapping her arms around her as mournful sobs racked through her body.

Misty hummed under her breath as she petted Carly's hair.

"There, there Carly," Misty soothed the girl, even as she heard the tell-tale sign of a chopper hovering closer and closer to their position on the roof.

She continued to pet Carly's hair even as she heard _his_ footsteps get closer and closer.

The person paused a few feet away from them. "Misty-sama, we need to leave now."

"I'm…going to take Carly under my wing," Misty answered instead.

She turned her head to her left and smiled softly at her companion.

"You'll help me…won't you Yoshi-kun?"

Magenta irises within black sclera stared back at her.

"Of course, Misty-sama."

.

.

.

.

 _That which was…is no more._

* * *

Word Count: 2220

A/N: Happy New Year everyone! Well, Skylar has reached a moral dilemma don't ya think? Anyway this is update 1/2.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed/viewed/favourited/followed!

Constructive criticism/comments/questions/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

U.P.: Sign Out


	21. Chapter 21

I do not own Yugioh!5D's

Chapter 21- Bound

– _He turns not back who is bound to a star_ – Leonardo da Vinci

* * *

Day one after the destruction of the Arcadia Movement building.

I was in the hospital. As were the twins.

As I had thought – Himuro had gotten himself, Yanagi and the twins out safely. When I had stumbled my way out of the building I was greeted to the sight of one Jack Atlas holding an unconscious Aki bridal style.

It took only a few seconds for the twins to spot me…less for them to rush up to me.

We didn't have much of a reunion because not long after the blaring sound of approaching sirens were heard.

It was all a blur really.

The doctors hadn't asked many questions outside of the standard ones. I wouldn't have been surprised if Goodwin's reach extended to the many hospitals in Neo Domino City.

Speaking of Goodwin, I would imagine that he was fairly displeased. The Dark Signers had marred his Utopia.

If it weren't for the fact that just about 120 (according to the news) persons had gone 'missing' – I would have been more amused.

I was waiting on results from a drug test, per request. I needed to make sure that whatever Divine drugged me and my bunch with was out of our systems.

Divine…

I scowled lightly at the thought of him.

I'd decided not to dwell on what had happened in that building. I doubt I'd lose much sleep because of it…mainly because there were bigger things to worry about.

I had a lot of other things to deal with.

Like for instance – Jack Atlas walking into the hospital room that the twins and I shared.

Silence reigned as we stared each other down. This was the first time since those months ago that I've been face to face with Jack Atlas.

He was the first to look away, though he only did so to glance at my bandaged right arm.

"Can I help you?" I asked flatly. The twins had gone to the bathroom, so I was the sole occupant of the room at the moment.

"I thought you should know, Izayoi is in a coma," he began. Right, Aki was in the same hospital as us.

I hummed noncommittedly and at that Jack scoffed.

"As I thought, the only thing we have in common is that we have the Birthmark."

Jack's tone wasn't accusatory. He spoke as if he were stating a simple fact.

Jack was silent for a few more moments. "Aki's father – the senator – has left for the Satellite. He's gone for Yusei."

My eyes narrowed a bit. Why was Jack telling me all this?

"As it is now, Yusei may be the only one who can get through to her."

I knew all of this already.

"Why are you here? Why are you telling me this?"

"I'm testing a theory."

I frowned confused. "What theory?"

Jack folded his arms across his chest. For a while I thought he wouldn't answer.

"I want to see just how strong these strings of Fate are."

And with that, Jack made a sharp turn on his heels and exited the room.

I scoffed audibly. The last thing I was going to be, was part of an experiment implemented by Jack Atlas.

…Okay so I've been decidedly antsy over the last few hours.

I was a bundle of nerves and I didn't have a decent outlet available.

I wish I had my sketchpad with me.

But to the point.

No doubt that as Jack said, Yusei would make it from the Satellite. The twins would go to him immediately and he would go to Aki's room.

No doubt, he'd be dueling her in an attempt to get past whatever walls she had built up around her heart. He'd be trying to get to the true Aki.

And of course there were her parents to factor in.

Aki's mother and father – she'd get to reconcile with them.

I…really didn't want to see that. I was already emotionally exhausted as it was.

I didn't need the entire 'Friendship is magic' trip either.

* * *

"Nii-san isn't in her room," Luca announced.

"Pfft," Lua waved his hand dismissively, having heard the worried tremor in his sister's voice.

He, Luca, Yusei and Jack stood just outside of Aki's room. Said red head was still with her parents. There was no telling what the three of them were murmuring to each other as they remained in a warm embrace.

The sight gnawed a bit at his heart. He remembered when he and Luca were like that with their parents. Before they became so busy, before they started leaving them alone for long periods…

Lua saw exactly why Skylar-nii hadn't wanted to come and watch. Yes, it'd probably be dangerous (how she'd allowed them to go and watched without putting up a fight had him puzzled), but she probably knew that Yusei would ultimately succeed and then Izayoi would have a heart-warming reunion with her parents.

He knew that Skylar's parents weren't around anymore. This probably would have been hard for her to watch.

"She's probably just drawing somewhere," Lua continued.

"Or she ran away."

The smile that Lua had forced on his face fell as he turned a hard stare towards the former-King of riding duels.

"No," he answered sternly, "She wouldn't."

"That's enough you two," Yusei said stepping in, before he turned to look at Luca who had been fidgeting where she stood.

"Let's go find her."

A small smile blossomed on Luca's face before she nodded happily.

Lua watched as Yusei began to walk towards the elevator, Luca nestled by his side. Jack, despite his seemingly unfriendly disposition, followed a ways behind them.

Despite the niggling, irrational feeling he felt beginning to gnaw at his heart once more, Lua smiled.

He smiled and he followed.

* * *

I frowned as I slunk further into the seat of the car I rode in – more accurately, the limo that the twins, Yusei, Aki, Jack and Minna rode in.

If I'd known that after the twins had found me that I'd be coerced into meeting up with Goodwin, I'd have stayed on the roof.

Personal feelings aside though, this next phase was important.

At least that's what I kept telling myself, even as everyone and I got out of the limo.

"I have been expecting you," Goodwin voiced as he emerged from his rather expanse mansion. "Welcome Signers, one and all."

I stood beside Jack who looked just as unimpressed, if not more, than me.

"Albeit it was done in a very roundabout manner, I feel pleased that I am finally able to meet you all like this."

Jack scoffed as Goodwin bowed in greeting. "You're shady to the core." I found myself nodding in agreement.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Yusei and Aki trading words. Most likely they were speaking of whether or not to trust Goodwin.

It was no secret that I didn't trust Goodwin. But he wasn't the only one I didn't trust.

I didn't trust either Jack or Aki.

Irrational. I was being irrational, especially since I knew what I knew and what I knew was that they were trustworthy.

But that was for the future.

As it was in the present…those two were…

"Hey, tell us. What do you want from us?" Lua asked brazenly, bringing me back to the situation at hand.

"I do not remember inviting you," Goodwin replied.

I scowled as Lua backtracked on his words.

"I have no business with anyone not a Signer. I kindly request that you leave."

I bristled but before I could get a word out, Luca stepped up beside her brother.

"I won't go unless I'm with Lua," she stated adamantly, looking at Goodwin head on.

I couldn't help the smile that appeared on my face and when Luca discreetly looked in my direction I gave her a thumbs up.

The twins may bicker a lot, but they loved and looked out for each other regardless of the time, place and people.

 _'_ _That's what siblings should be like,'_ I thought wistfully.

"Skylar."

I blinked at the mention of my name. I looked to see Goodwin leading the others inside. I must have spaced out.

I looked back at Yusei who motioned his head in a 'let's go' manner, before beginning to follow the others.

I hesitated for only a moment, before I followed behind him.

Goodwin's home was just as large as it had seemed on the outside. It reminded me of a modern day Victorian-themed home. After walking through numerous carpeted corridor, we eventually came to an elevator, which took us down quite a few levels.

When the elevator finally came to a stop, it opened to a passage lined with columns with fire on top of them.

I felt as if I were being led to a ritual sacrifice or something.

We came to a stone door that donned some kind of hieroglyphics.

My mind couldn't help but think of Yugi, from the original Yu-gi-oh and the spirit that had dwelled in his…puzzle was it? – Either way, the spirit had been an Egyptian Pharaoh.

What would have happened if I had been reborn into Yu-gi-oh as opposed to Y5D's?

The sudden sliding close of heavy stone door breaks my line of thought.

I needed to stop going off to my own world.

My eyes widened as I looked around me.

It was as if we were in space. We were surrounded by stars, billions of them. Where we stood, we were directly in from of some kind of stone temple, around which there was the entirety of the Mark of the Crimson Dragon. The Mark illuminated the…wherever we were, adding to the eerie atmosphere.

"T-that shape!" Yusei exclaimed upon seeing the mark of the Crimson Dragon upon the top of the temple's stone gate.

"It's like our birthmarks! And the same as Nii-san's mark!" Luca declared surprised.

"The Crimson Dragon." Aki intoned.

Goodwin turned, standing before the stone gate and addressed us.

"Yes, that is the symbol of the Signers that has been passed down as the legend of the People of the Stars."

A sudden, familiar burning sensation pulsed through my right arm and then and there my Mark began to glow brighter than it ever had before. I stared as the Mark of the Crimson glowed through my jacket sleeve.

Mere seconds later a familiar roar reverberated around us and I felt something in the atmosphere shift.

Soon, wrapped around the tower in all of its crimson and eerie glory, was the Crimson Dragon. This felt…reminiscent of the first time I had met him…when I had been alone in that void…

I felt my heart rate increase as I continued to stare at the Crimson Dragon. I couldn't focus on whatever was being said.

I caught bits and pieces of course.

About all of this being Fate derived by the Crimson Dragon's power.

About us not being able to escape this Fate.

The Fate of the Signers.

Duelists chosen by the Crimson Dragon.

A Fate that joins us and guides us.

Guides us.

Guide.

That was what I was.

"You cannot avert your eyes from it," Goodwin's voice droned. "You all share the same birthmark. You were chosen as the reincarnations of the legendary Signers. Whether you like it or no, it was promised thousands of years ago that you would all encounter as so, while at the mercy of destiny."

At the mercy of Destiny.

Destiny.

Fate.

The Signers' guide – their keeper. That was my Destiny, my Fate but…was there no more?

"Is there no more?" I asked aloud, but I didn't direct my question to Goodwin or the others. I spoke directly the Crimson Dragon.

For a brief moment something raw and powerful pulsed through my body and I saw red. Literally.

"Nii-san!" Luca exclaimed looking back at me.

"Your eyes are red!" Lua finished.

I didn't fully acknowledge them, I had yet to take my gaze from the Crimson Dragon. I didn't feel any different really. If anything this was just a show put on by the Crimson Dragon.

"Aren't you going to answer me?" I grit out.

Years, years of silence. I'd heard nothing from the Crimson Dragon since those many years ago in the void.

A roar was my only answer.

 ** _'…_** ** _Patience…'_**

With a final loud cry, the Crimson Dragon spread its wings and faded into the atmosphere.

A tense instant followed, I kept my gaze on where the Crimson Dragon was mere seconds ago.

The moment was broken by Goodwin, whose voice cut through the silence.

"As expected from a Disciple of the Dragon Star."

I turned narrowed eyes towards him. Just what was he speaking of? Just what did he know?

"You are able to hear from the Crimson Dragon, are you not?"

I felt everyone's gaze on me. I pursed my lips, neither confirming nor refuting his statement.

"And you are able to see possible futures I presume?" Something dark glinted in Goodwin's eyes and I felt my back stiffen. "I wonder…just which future will come to pass."

I felt my heart leap to my throat.

"That's enough Goodwin," Yusei spoke as he stepped before me, blocking my gaze of Goodwin or his gaze of me. Not that it mattered. Either way, I felt lighter as the weight of Goodwin's gaze was finally removed from my person.

Goodwin obliged without much fanfare.

He went on to speak of the history of the Nazca lines, about how they were seals created by the Crimson Dragon to bind Incarnates of Evil and about how they were disappearing.

"This is all the Dark Signers' doing." That's what Goodwin had said.

Dark Signers – they had marks as we did, when one fought them there was no escape from the duelling field, the damage became real, especially those of the Dark Synchro Monsters.

The Dark Signers were subject to the powers of the underworld – the souls of people were mere fuel, sacrifices, for their ultimate beasts – the Earthbound Immortals.

I felt nothing short of pity for the Dark Signers. They were empty. Soulless. Dead.

They were ultimately driven by their vengeance.

I closed my eyes in resignation.

We had a hell of a battle before us.

I glanced at Yusei, who had gone unnervingly silent, his gloved fists clenched tightly.

I felt sorry for him. He had just been told that his friend was more or less beyond salvation.

I felt bad for him, but at the very same time I was happy.

At the very least – I knew that none of my friends were mixed up in this Dark Signer business.

.

.

.

.

.

 _The Signers and I were…irrevocably bound. These strings of Fate had never felt more like chains._

* * *

Word Count: 2454

A/N: Update 2/2. I will admit that I rushed these last two chapters but...meh. I may just edit these last two chapters. I'm not sure when the next update will be, RL is crashing down atm. I'll be fine though.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed/viewed/favourited/followed!

Constructive criticism/comments/questions/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

U.P.: Sign Out


	22. Chapter 22

I do not own Yugioh!5D's

Chapter 22- No retreat

– _Once you have made a decision and there is no turning back, acceptance is the only comfort_ – Lucinda Riley

* * *

After Goodwin was finally finished spinning his tale, we all exited the room and he left us to our thoughts – heavy as they were.

Jack had left without so much as a by your leave. I hadn't expected any less really.

Yusei though, he had given this solemn nod before mumbling that he was heading out for some fresh air.

…This was the moodiest I'd ever seen Yusei. I could sense the apprehension, the hesitation, the doubt…the _fear_. I wished I had the right words to say, but I simply didn't.

Either way, that left the twins and me alone with Aki.

"He seems to be suffering," Aki voiced. I glanced at her, my brows raised.

"You know how Yusei's feeling too…Izayoi-san," Luca spoke cautiously.

"Yusei cherishes the bonds shared between people above all else. His close friend becoming a Dark Signer…is truly hard to cope with."

"And how do you know that's what's happening with Yusei?" Lua asked tensely.

The twin's cautious and somewhat distant behaviour towards Aki didn't really surprise me. I mean I was doing no better either.

I had been keeping my distance as well.

There was no point in acting as if everything was okay between us. I wasn't angry at Aki, so much so that I was angry at Divine (But did I have that right? After all, I had just left him…)…and what he had done to Lua, what he almost did to Luca.

They could have been following me – children live what they learn is as true an adage as it gets. Or they could be acting of their own volition – I don't begin to think that their worlds revolve around me.

Aki paused uncertainly, her eyes darting between the three of us. "…'Kiryu'," she began, "That's the name that he's been repeating for a while now – the name of that friend he spoke about when we were dueling in the hospital."

I gave a noncommittal hum.

I was about to suggest something to the twins when Aki spoke up once more.

"How are you though? How will you prepare for the fight?" The question was directed towards Luca, whom fidgeted where she stood.

"With us," was the answer Lua provided stepping beside his sister. I smiled at the picture the two made. "Luca has Nii-san and me."

"Nii-san and I," I corrected absently.

A moment of silence elapsed, before a deep rumbling sound was heard.

All eyes turned to Lua, whose cheeks were tinted pink.

Before I even got to tease him, he grabbed at my hand and Luca's. "Let's go see if we can find some food. Nii-san, I'm hungry~"

He dragged us along. How did he get these bouts of inhuman strength – I will never know.

I turned to quickly give Aki a nod goodbye – I could do that at least – though I wish I didn't.

When I turned around I promptly crushed the guilt I felt at seeing the resigned and forlorn look on Aki's face.

* * *

I sighed deeply as I walked through the large maze like garden that was outside of Goodwin's mansion. The flowers that surrounded me, that were on hedges waist-high, were all roses – red, white, pink – like in a typical cliché, rich person's garden.

I really didn't want to stay anywhere near Goodwin, but not staying here would mean going to the Satellite with the other Signers.

I stretched languidly.

I had eventually let the kids go ahead of me. I wasn't that hungry, plus Lua and Luca needed time to themselves as well. I knew Lua long enough to know when he was putting up a false front. Only Luca could get him out of that funk.

Just as I knew that at this point only Jack could get Yusei out of the sulky, self-depreciative mood he had transitioned into.

"Hey, you," a baritone voice called.

Speak of the devil.

"Wow, thanks for using my name," I said sarcastically as I slowed to a stop. Jack approached me from a path in the garden closest to my left.

"I'm just returning the same courtesy you've shown to me," he replied folding his hands.

I hummed absently in acquiescence – he had me there.

"What can I do for you…Atlas?"

"I need to ask you something."

I gestured for him to continue.

He paused for an instant, before he reached into his coat pocket and took out a pair of odd looking glasses – the lenses were cracked.

"When you were in the Arcadia building – did you see or hear anyone talk about a girl named Carly?"

I stared intensely at the glasses.

…Carly…?

She was someone I was yet to meet. She had been in the building? Was that how it had gone originally?

I sighed – another variable that I had to factor in – that I should have remembered to factor in.

She was Jack's…what again?

Friend? Crush? Love?

I didn't particularly care…but she was a Dark Signer…or at least she should be.

"I really don't know."

It was more of a declaration to myself than it was an answer to Jack.

When I looked up to see how Jack had taken my answer – I'd looked up only to see his back as he walked away.

How rude.

But I understood him to an extent. I understood all the Signers to an extent.

This…all of this with the Dark Signers, was personal for everyone…except me at least.

Yusei would have to face his former best friend who would not stop short of killing him – all because he felt Yusei had betrayed him.

Jack would have to face Carly – someone who was obviously important to him, if the way he seemed so hung up on her was anything to go by.

Aki was up against Misty – someone who accused Aki of being the cause of her brother's death, someone who had all but called Aki a murderer to her face.

Then there was Luca – who had made a promise to the Spirit of a Dragon, who had been trapped for at least 5 millennia, to protect the Spirits of the Duel World and free her. Luca and Lua were a packaged deal, so Lua's involvement went without saying.

The only person left was me. How was I to go through this? As a bystander? I doubted that I'd be that lucky.

Before I could ponder further a voice broke through my thoughts.

"Skylar-san."

My eyes widened in mild surprise and I turned in the direction of the voice.

 _'_ _Can't I catch a break?'_

"Aki-san," I replied in a measured tone as I stared at the Black Rose.

It seemed as if it would just be one thing after another for today.

Brown irises stared into mine and I watched as hesitation danced within them, before they took on a determined gleam.

The next thing I know Aki bends at her waist, giving me a deep bow. My mouth fell open a bit in alarm.

"I'm sorry for…everything that has happened up until now. I'm sorry about Divine and what he did to the twins. I'm sorry that all I did was watch it happen."

My fists clenched and unclenched and I bit my bottom lip.

"Stop with the bow." Not really the most articulate thing I could have said first but I wasn't sure as to how I was to handle this.

Aki straightened, hands behind her back. She looked mildly uncomfortable but she pressed on regardless.

"I know that you don't trust me, I've only given you reason to mistrust me. But I want it to be different. I…want to become friends."

Aki…for a sixteen year old girl, she had more guts than I thought. Not many would lay themselves bare before another person they were barely acquainted with – leave themselves vulnerable, open to rejection.

She was a better person than I was. I vaguely wondered if she'd be asking for my friendship if she knew that I left her…'saviour' for dead.

I shook my head a bit. What she didn't know, well, it was best for the both of us if neither she (nor anyone) ever found out.

Realizing that I had yet to respond to Aki, I quickly extended my left hand.

"Let's start off slow then."

She had extended the olive branch, I couldn't rightly reject it.

I was treated to a blinding smile as she clutched my hand.

I had to admit though…I definitely preferred her smiling at me.

* * *

Aki and I had spent the rest of our time in the garden, just strolling around in companionable silence.

What would out future relationship be like, I wonder.

The Trouble Trio were the closest thing to female friends I'd ever had (and even then we weren't strictly 'friends').

We ended up coming upon where Yusei and Jack were seated on the grass.

Before I could say anything, Aki had already begun walking towards them.

"Seems you're prepared now. I will fight with you. I think what I must do lies ahead."

She spoke more to Yusei than she did to Jack.

Well, at least it was clear whom she would undeniably follow. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"Yusei!" My head zoomed to the side, only for me to see Luca running up to the three of them, chattering excitedly.

It was refreshing, seeing her so energized, though – as I glanced to where Lua still stood – I wish I could say the same for Lua.

I watched as the young boy hesitated where he stood, before he strode forward confidently.

It was quite the sight really – seeing them all there together. I closed my eyes.

 _'_ _It seems really peaceful, like this.'_

"Nii-san!"

I opened my eyes and saw the twins waving at me. I began walking towards them.

"Jack doesn't believe that I can become cool!" Lua said with a wide grin before he spun around to Jack. "See I told you I'd tell on you."

I couldn't help the huff of laughter that escaped me.

Jack scoffed, "Ooh, I'm absolutely petrified."

"You should be," Luca piped cheerily.

Jack made a show of nodding before he drawled, "Well, I admit that she's some duelist. Not many are blown away by their own performance."

Silence followed the comment – obviously no one knew how to react to that statement, having caught on to the deeper meaning behind that.

I rolled my eyes.

"Pot meet kettle," I deadpanned, "When last I checked at the end of _your_ duel you were blown off of your D-wheel and ended up being carted away."

Jack scoffed before he turned his nose up in the air. "I don't recall any of that," he replied haughtily.

By now the tense atmosphere had dissipated – giving way to snickers and smirks of amusement from those around us.

I was hard-pressed to keep a straight face, what with the untroubled and teasing mood that had settled.

Hmmm, Jack Atlas was the last person I saw myself exchanging banter with.

What a day this was turning out to be.

On another note however –

"So you've all decided to fight right?" I interjected.

Luca was the first to respond, "I want to save Ancient Fairy Dragon and protect the Spirit world."

Look at how brave she was.

Beside her Lua nodded before he raised his chin in the air. "Of course she'll need me now more than ever."

They were _both_ brave.

"And I'll be using my powers to defend everyone," Aki chimed in.

Yusei was the next one to speak. "Kiriyu – I'll stop him," he glanced at his palm before he clenched it into a fist. "I'll reach out to him and pull him from the darkness."

"There's no way I'm going to let some ancient darkness just waltz in and run the place without a fight," Jack stated adamantly.

I smiled sardonically at that.

We definitely had quite the fight coming to us. Or rather we would end up going to them…all the way in the Satellite. There was no doubt of that at this point – that's where we were headed.

Each person had ultimately resolved that within his/her heart. It was decided we were all…going to the Satellite.

 _'_ _Satellite…wait a minute…'_

"Wait, we're going to the Satellite," I suddenly griped bringing my hands to my face – realization dawning on me.

"Nii-san what's wrong?" Luca asked anxiously.

I forgot one crucial factor in all of this – that's what was wrong. How could I have forgotten something so important?

"Forget being hurt by the Dark Signers. Your parents are going to kill me if they ever find out about all of this," I groaned.

Starting from after the Fortune Cup – they've slept outside of their homes in a dangerous neighbourhood, strangers ( _marked_ strangers) frequented the apartment, the twins had been kidnapped, experimented on (or almost experimented on in Luca's case), hospitalized…

And _now_ I was going along with them to the _Satellite_ …I was so fired after all of this. In fact, how had I not been fired yet? Talk about a severe lack of parental presence…

There was silence for a brief while, before Jack (of all persons) let out a snort of amusement. After that everyone seemed to break out into snickers and giggles.

My nose twitched in annoyance.

I was being serious.

* * *

Feed.

It needed to feed.

But it needed more souls than this diminutive island could provide.

But…if the island's mortals served as bait for the servants of the Crimson Dragon, then a greater purpose would be achieved.

Hmmm…

For now it would suffice for the island's paltry beings, for once it finally defeated the Signers and harnessed the power of that accursed Crimson Dragon – the entire world would belong to it.

* * *

Death by Black Fog.

There were so many things wrong with that statement.

Just as there were many things wrong with how empty the streets of the Satellite looked.

I had seen many pictures of the Satellite before and none of them had been very flattering. The videos on the screen before me looked similar to the ones I'd seen before.

The buildings were the same – dilapidated, derelict. The streets were the same – uneven, dirty.

But at least in those pictures, the possibility of persons living ( _hiding_ ) within those buildings were higher. In the video feed before me…there wasn't a soul present.

Just a thick, eerie black fog.

Regardless of the fact that it was the deepest region of the Satellite…there would at least be some signs of life – there should be.

But there wasn't.

We currently stood in the Public Security headquarters' surveillance department, having been whisked away from Goodwin's mansion by Mikage. I was starting to dislike her a bit. All she's done so far is bring me to unpleasant places and carry unpleasant news. Then again, she worked for Goodwin, so I couldn't complain too much.

"We are currently unable to establish contact with Security in Satellite at all," Mikage announced hurriedly, her fingers dancing over the holo-pad in her hand. "This footage may not hold for very long."

And so said, so done. As soon as she finished speaking, the video feed cut and all that could be heard was static.

"We can't just stand around doing nothing!" Jack declared. "We're flying to Satellite on the double! Prepare a helicopter!"

"Y-yes sir!" she squeaked out.

The smartly dressed woman may not have much of a backbone when it came to Jack, but I will say that Mikage Sagiri is efficient. It took her one phone call to put everything in order. After which we were ushered to the roof of the Public Security building.

It didn't escape my attention that a large crowd had gathered in front of the Security building. They were loud, demanding. They were a crowd on the verge of rioting.

I smirked at that – Goodwin needed as much of a headache as he could get.

Anyway, it took all of 5 minutes for Goodwin to grace us with his presence and another 10 for the chopper to arrive.

During the 10 minutes Goodwin had taken to giving us some parting information. Though honestly, telling us that the fog's origin was at the site of Old Momentum, that the Developer – Dr. Fudo – was Yusei's father, that it was the Signers' mission to make Old Momentum revolve in the right direction – telling us all that gave us (well at least them) more questions than answers.

He was good at that.

Whenever he was asked a question that he knew would lead to something that he didn't want uncovered, he would deflect it with pieces of information that led to even more questions that one became caught up in.

When the chopper finally landed, out came the same burly officer that always seemed to have it out for Yusei.

Yusei – he'd forever be in the spotlight.

"Wait a second," Yusei spoke up before we began to make our way towards the chopper.

I watched as he looked Goodwin in the eyes.

"I want you to promise me something."

Goodwin held his gaze steadfastly. "What is that?"

"When we defeat the Dark Signers and manage to return everything back to normal, promise me that you'll connect the Daedalus Bridge with the city."

That was a big thing to ask for – everyone knew that, yet no one dared to voice such thoughts.

Goodwin though, looked unperturbed. "The Daedalus Bridge that links Satellite and the city…Do you intend to emulate the legendary man who fought to build that bridge?"

What an ironic thing to ask?

I wondered what the Public Security would be like if it was that 'legendary man' that led it as opposed to his hollowed out shell.

But then again, was Goodwin really in charge? I knew that the shadow of Yliaster spread far and wide.

"There should be no more reason to discriminate Satellite after all this." Yusei was firm and sure and didn't seem as if he would accept any answer but 'Yes'.

Goodwin must have noticed this too, for he gave in easily enough.

"Very well. I promise you."

Yusei nodded, and finally turned towards us. I saw the fire in his eyes as he walked by me, his gait resolute and unfaltering.

The others turned and followed Yusei, making their way to the chopper.

And just like that the leader of the group had become clear…at least it had to me, though there was really never any doubt.

"Having second thoughts Kameyo-san?" Goodwin's voice sounded near my ear.

"I always do," I answered without looking at him.

I wanted to say more – 'You won't win', 'You'll never win', 'You're no god' – but I didn't. Instead I made my way aboard the chopper, where I sat to between the twins and Yusei.

"We must win this battle…for everyone's sake."

Yusei's voice was calm yet impassioned and he probably hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"Yes," I answered nonetheless. "We must."

.

.

.

 _There was now no retreat. But would any regrets follow?_

* * *

Word Count: 3162

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	23. Chapter 23

I do not own Yugioh!5D's

Chapter 23 – Gravity

– _Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure_ – Helen Keller

* * *

I bent over from my seat on the plane, my head between my knees and hands around my stomach.

"What kind of turbo duelist gets air sick?" was Jack's derisive comment.

I swore if I threw up I was going to be aiming for him.

I groaned in answer only to feel a hand begin to rub small circles on my back. I looked up to glance at Yusei briefly before returning to my previous position.

I was terrible at air and sea travel when it was over a long distance. When I had first come to Neo Domino City by ship…well that had been my last ship ride since.

Land, solid land was the only way to travel, I was sure of that fact. Not to mention the chopper shaking from strong winds was not making it any easier on me.

Nevertheless, apart from everyone discovering that I got air-sick, they'd also discovered a bit about Zero Reverse, Old Momentum, that Yusei's father was the supervisor of the Momentum Investigation and Development Section (M.I.D.S) and that Yusei was actually City borne.

Another sudden jerk of the plane almost had me falling head first on the plane's floor. I would have liked to complain to the pilot – but he was having a hard enough time flying the plane through such turbulent weather.

"This lightning isn't normal," Ushio commented. "We're through if we take a direct hit. Wouldn't it be better if we turn back?"

"There will be no turning back for us." At Mikage's declaration, Ushio grudgingly quieted.

Soon, the circular motions on my back stopped as Yusei rose from where he sat to tell Ushio where we should land.

It really didn't matter to me where we landed. If it meant that I got to get off of the chopper and onto a firm foundation then I was all for it.

Ushio landed the vehicle without much of a fuss (thanks largely in part to Mikage reiterating that we should land) and I had to give him his dues – he actually could act as a capable officer when he wasn't mouthing off at persons.

I would have been the first person out of the air craft had it not been for the fact that I was still a bit woozy, but I settled for walking slowly behind the twins, while Jack, Yusei and Aki walked in front of us.

As it turned out, we landed in the yard of an orphanage. And not just any orphanage – this was the home that Jack, Yusei and Crow grew up in.

It was good – the fact that Satellite had orphanages. Though the City didn't do as much as they should to support them.

As I made my way out of the air craft, I saw a Hispanic looking woman with locked hair run up to greet Jack of all persons. It was Martha – his and Yusei's (and Crow's) foster mother.

"There are rules to growing so big!" she greeted cheerily.

And Jack seemed so off kilter that it made my mouth quiver.

"Okay, just like old times. C'mon now, 'A King always…'?"

I watched in nothing short of amusement at what followed, my queasiness now forgotten.

When Martha held out her hand, Jack bowed to one knee.

"A King always shows respect to a lady," he intoned as he grasped her hand and kissed the back of it.

"Aww, you're such a good boy," Martha squealed grabbing him into a bear hug.

And that had been my limit. My shoulders shook as a bout of snickers escaped my lips.

Jack shot me an annoyed glare.

"That was adorable really," I commented as Martha released him from the hug.

"Shut up," he shot back in reply.

I tutted disappointedly. "What happened to a King always showing respect to a lady?"

"Maybe if you started dressing like one."

I scoffed.

There was nothing wrong with what I was wearing. I hadn't really gotten the chance to get my go-to runner gear mended, so I had taken to wearing my back up gear for the past few days – which was simply a black and blue version of my initial, textile jacket and pants suit, albeit it wasn't waterproof or as durable.

Excuse me for thinking that safety came before fashion.

I rolled my eyes.

"You do not want to talk about clothing," I spoke flatly, staring directly at him. His gaze did not relent. "At least I don't dress like some kind of narcissistic pretty boy. With the way you look it's as if your best accessory is a mirror not a deck."

"What was that you substandard duelist?"

"You heard me you supercilious has-been."

We'd gotten so close that we were mere inches away from each other. I swore that lighting passed through our gazes as we glared at each other – neither of us backing down. Jack Atlas was beginning to push my buttons quite too frequently. I couldn't have him thinking he could push me around.

"I dare you to say that again," Jack bit out slowly, to which I gave an unrepentant smirk.

"I've never seen Nii-san so riled up before," I heard Lua comment nervously.

"Those two do seem to have a…special relationship developing," Aki spoke her piece and I could tell that she was choosing her words carefully.

"Oh? 'Special'?" Martha immediately peeped up, a thrilled tremor in her tone. "You wouldn't happen to be Jack's girlfriend would you?"

Jack and I scoffed in unison.

"As if."

"She wishes."

"She is nothing to Atlas-sama."

There was a pause as both Jack and I turned to look in Mikage's direction. Aforementioned blue haired girl blushed as she stuttered out an explanation.

"I-I was just making things clear."

"Riiight," I drawled rolling my eyes.

* * *

Martha had ushered us in and had us sit around a long, wooden, rectangular table.

She had sent the kids, who had swarmed Yusei, Jack and surprisingly Ushio all the way into the small cottage, outside for the moment.

It was then that she and Saiga delivered the news that many of Yusei's friends – Crow, Rally, Blitz, Nerve, Taka – hadn't returned from the depths of Satellite. The black fog had taken them.

The conversation went on like that for a little while. Yusei spoke of Kiryu, of his fear of the Earthbound Monster and of the friends he had in his corner.

I admit – Yusei sure knew how to say one thing in a plethora of different ways. I still hadn't figured out how he managed to make it so inspiring all the time though.

I was saved from mulling on that particular thought, by Martha announcing that it was time for dinner.

"I wonder what's for dinner," Luca asked her brother, both twins were seated to my left.

 _'_ _Nothing as extravagant as you're used to,'_ I supplied in my mind.

I vaguely wondered how Lua and Luca were handling this visit. They were after all, for want of a better term, 'rich kids'. They weren't used to the conditions that came with poverty.

Compared to the kids of Martha's cottage – Lua and Luca were fed better, were dressed better, they had educational opportunities that these kids could only dream of.

…And yet…I hadn't heard a single complaint. All I'd been seeing were smiles, all I'd been hearing was laughter – from the kids, from Martha.

Now that was strength.

* * *

I've never, ever had dinner with so many persons before.

The jury was still out on how I felt about it though. On one hand there was this warm, family atmosphere about it…on the other hand there was also the constant reminder that this wouldn't last for long.

It couldn't.

Dinner was some kind of vegetable broth which was served with a loaf of bread and a glass of water. It seemed pretty bland.

As the kids from the orphanage happily gave thanks, I saw the twins hesitate for a mere moment before they began to eat.

I had yet to touch my food. With so many of us there to feed, how much of the orphanage's supply had we used up?

I mentally berated myself. The last thing that any of these kids or Martha needed was my pity. I ate a spoonful of the broth without further hesitance. It was pretty good for what it was – considering that Tetsu was the one that made it. It usually was the unlikeliest that offered the big surprises.

I glanced over to Yusei, who was only a few chairs down from my right. He hadn't touched his food yet.

And here I thought that I was the silent, pensive one of the group.

"If we win this battle, a bridge will be built between here and the city. There'll be no more discrimination after that."

Ah. So that's what was on his mind.

"Your futures are certain to change. An age where you can be who you want will come."

Yusei…spoke with such certainty and I idly thought that that's how I should speak. I mean, after all, I was the one with knowledge of the future.

The boy, Takuya – who had been following Testsu around as if the officer was a hen and he the little chick, cheered at Yusei's proclamation.

"Yusei, you're so cool!"

The other children took that as an invitation to start chattering excitedly. They were cute kids. A small smile tugged at my lips when I noticed that Lua was rolling his eyes.

"Remind you of anyone Lua?" I teased the boy beside me who pouted and refused to comment.

But before I could say another word there was a flash of light and suddenly the window behind where Martha sat shattered inwards as the ground shook.

As I and the others rose from our seats I mumbled under my breath, "I knew this wouldn't last."

* * *

The Satellite was the last place that Ushio Tetsu ever expected to find himself in.

And while he was listing – an orphanage is another place he never expected to find himself in.

He didn't do children. He just wasn't the best with them.

There was one thing he was good at though – his job. He was good at following orders – whether or not he did them grudgingly was beside the point. What mattered was that he did what he was ordered to do – aggressively so.

Even if it was to keep the streets of Neo Domino City free of crime by keeping Satellite…natives within Satellite. Even if it was to escort a bunch of…children really into the throngs of a Satellite that was messed up – more so than usual.

He'd never expected to be thrown into all of this. 'This' being Signer business – whatever that meant. He could have asked, but he doubted that he'd get an answer. Goodwin rarely ever gave him a straight answer – heck Goodwin rarely gave him a glance whenever he was ordering him to do something.

If he'd have known that he'd be thrown into such creepy business – who exactly were 'Dark Signers'? – he…would have probably still accepted seeing as Mikage seemed to be so involved in it all. He couldn't just let her go off on her own. Her sense of duty was almost as strong as his and since she was Atlas's babysitter, where he went she was sure to go.

…But then again, it looked as if Mikage didn't do the things she did just because it was her job. She actually liked that blond-haired punk. Now that stung – that hurt. He'd honestly rather the pain of a physical scar rather than an emotional one.

And speaking of scars…It seemed as if Yusei wasn't as much of a second-rate Satellite rat as he'd first thought.

The kid was pretty strong. In fact Yusei reminded him of another spikey haired kid that he'd been at odds with in the past.

But did Yugi have to deal with purple, soul sucking flames that took the shape of Nazca lines?

He'd never expected anything this extreme to be waiting for them in the Satellite. And yet here he was, practically in the line of fire.

This was why he said he didn't do kids. Why did he have to go and get attached? And why did that little kid, Takuya have to go and get himself in such a bind?

Seriously, that kid was annoying. He'd followed him everywhere, always looked at him with admiration, helped him when Martha had succumbed to her inner slave-driver, called him 'Nii-san'…

…Yeah, Tetsu felt that he had probably gotten to the point of no return.

* * *

I had been in the group with Jack and the both of us were asked to take Martha and the kids and keep them safe, but in the end, I'd been the one in charge of the group. Some of the kids had snuck off and not long after Martha and Ushio had run off to save them, Jack had followed.

As it was now, Yusei was dueling Rudger. His emotions were in a tizzy. He's justified – that man was the leader of the Dark Signers after all. Not to mention, he was facing someone similar to Kiryu.

I…somehow felt that we needed to be there. It was just this feeling that emanated from my mark and throughout my entire being. The Signers and I – we were connected indeed.

"Nii-san, we can't stay here," Luca's voice startled me, honestly. "We need to be where Yusei is."

I frowned a bit, but nodded nonetheless. She'd confirmed what I'd been thinking. I turned to Saiga and Mikage. He, Mikage, the twins and I and the rest of the kids had all relocated to the furthest room of the small cottage.

"Can you please look after the kids?"

Saiga nodded resolutely but Mikage hesitated to answer.

"It's too dangerous for you to come," I told her before I added, "Jack will be fine. He can take care of himself."

I heard her sigh, before she gave me a firm nod.

"Let's go you two," I beckoned to the twins as we headed outside. Thankfully, Goodwin had opted to sending my D-wheel along with Jack and Yusei's.

Now all we had to do was find where everyone had gone…which wasn't hard considering the fact that there was a giant, spider mark in the sky.

It took the twins and I mere instants to mount my D-wheel (I still needed to get a side car) and less than that for us to head out.

We arrived at the dueling field in less than 10 minutes and it was to a sight that sent my skin crawling.

Even from ground level, above the amethyst fires that danced and raged – the Earthbound god could be seen clearly. Not only that, but masses of…webbing hung all around the dueling area, adding to the eerie effect of it all.

"We need to get higher Nii-san!" I was surprised that Lua could speak over his shock. The spider-like monster seemed over ten times bigger than he (and even then…it didn't seem as if it were as big as it could have been).

I nodded regardless and looked around me. There were many tall buildings around us…half of them looked ready to collapse. Then, having found a building that looked the most stable, I ushered the twins inside and to the very top.

I felt my mark pulse more and more the higher we got. Finally – when we were finally there we were able to see the entirety of the dueling field.

Things didn't look very good. There within the intense inferno stood Yusei and Aki to one side…and Rudger to the other side.

And he was speaking. His voice was dark and it carried even to where we were.

"Momentum would often experience a negative rotation, which had the doctor worried that a serious incident could occur."

"Doctor?" Luca queried. "Does he mean Yusei's father?"

No doubt.

"But, the sponsors and Neo Domino City didn't stand for that and development was handed over to me instead."

Sponsors…did he mean…

 _'…_ _Yliaster?'_

"…And then, Zero Reverse happened."

I felt my stomach drop and I heard the grin in his voice. Truly this person had descended into madness. Everyone else who heard seemed similarly shocked.

"No way…you intentionally set off that explosion!?" Yusei.

"Who knows?"

The mocking tone in which he spoke not to mention the subject that he was speaking so flippantly about – It was enough to make a person's blood boil.

"Answer! Why did you do that!? What in the hell went on between you, Goodwin and my old man!?"

Of course this was the first I'd seen Yusei so…angry. His usually composed demeanour had seemed to have evaporated in Rudger's presence. The Dark Signer really knew how to get under Yusei's skin – more so than Kiryu I think.

"Earthbound God Uru!" Rudger called forth his beast and I felt the ground beneath me begin to tremble a bit. Earthbound God cards could attack directly, which didn't bode well for Yusei if he didn't have a counter.

Just as the great spider shot out a mass of web, Yusei countered with his trap Iron Resolve.

I watched as the monstrous spider's attack was deflected off of a crimson dome only to split apart and hit the surrounding buildings.

Ours wasn't in the line of fire, the building beside us was though. And as bad luck would have it, it was that same building that one of the kids had snuck off to – and the building was collapsing.

"Nii-san, what do we do!?" Lua asked frantically.

"I –I," I stared wide-eyed as the boy, Takuya, began to slide from the roof.

I didn't have to make any kind of decision though, because it took only moments for a second figure to make its way onto the roof.

"Martha!" numerous voices sounded, though I for one couldn't find my voice. I couldn't do a single thing if (when) either (both) of them fell.

Martha walked towards the boy, Takuya, only to stumble and fall towards him. Things didn't look good. For one the building was still collapsing.

"At this rate they're both gonna fall over…" I said hurriedly, needlessly as I glanced downwards, "…and into the flames."

And then their souls would become sustenance for a monster.

"Hey hold on!" another voice yelled and lo and behold, it was Ushio.

"Don't go Ushio-san!" Luca yelled when she saw that he was going to try and reach them.

It was a useless thing to do. Then they'd all end up sacrificed. What we needed was something to catch them…wait.

 _'_ _Catch!'_

"Aki!" I yelled running to the edge of the building, an idea dawning on me. I saw her head snap up in my direction. "You need to summon a monster! Summon a monster to catch them!"

I knew that she wasn't the only one who looked at me astonished.

"I–I can't," she stuttered out surprised.

"I'm telling you that you can!" I honestly knew that the chances of her being able to summon a tangible monster outside of a duel were slim (she didn't have that much control yet), but at least there was a possibility. That's all we needed.

"I don't know how!" she yelled back frantically. Snap, this wasn't a good time for her to be closing in on herself.

"Please try! Just try!" I yelled urgently when I saw Martha and Takuya, who was wrapped in Martha's arms, slide even further down the roof. Any further and they'd fall off.

Still, Aki hesitated.

"Come on Aki-nee-chan, you can do it!" I directed a surprised glance at Lua.

"Martha and Takuya need you Nee-chan!" I turned my attention to my left, to Luca.

That seemed to have gotten through to Aki, because before another word could be said, a card slid into her palm at the blink of an eye.

"Rose Tentacles!" she yelled, "Come forth!"

And no sooner had she said that, both Martha and Takuya finally fell over the edge of the roof and towards the raging inferno below. I watched with bated breath as Aki's monster sprung to _life_ from the card in her palm and stretched its large tentacles towards the falling duo.

It felt as if a weight had been lifted from my chest when I saw that the monster's grip proved true – its tentacles holding both the woman and child mere inches above the purple flames.

I saw Aki struggle, but some way, somehow she managed to control her monster long enough for it to place both Martha and Takuya on the ground behind her. Aki slumped to the ground panting and though the violet fires were so close to them, her Signer Mark flared up and formed a barrier around the three of them.

I sank to my knees in relief.

It worked. It actually worked.

.

.

.

But we weren't out of the woods yet.

Taking a deep breath I got back up to my feet to continue to watch the duel. I'd never felt so antsy while watching a duel before.

I didn't like the feeling and I knew that I would have similar feelings in the future.

The duel seemed as if it were winding down either way. My brows furrowed as I tried to rack my brain as to how the duel ended. Rudger was the big boss (one of) but…he wouldn't be defeated so easily.

I looked on in morbid fascination as Rudger's entire form began to glow and take on a different shape.

It was a little kid.

"Rally!"

I imagined that it had been a hard duel for Yusei in the beginning. No doubt it had just gotten worse. The Dark Signers seemed to have so much leverage over all of us.

And what did the Signers have…Faith? Hope? Bonds?

I frowned – this Hero vs Villain thing left a lot to be desired.

And Rudger – to him this was all a game.

He'd basically just summoned Rally up to see Yusei squirm.

"He can fight if he wants to fight and lose if he wants to lose," Rudger informed Yusei from his perch atop a layer of web.

It was as if he were staring at puppets. That's probably what he saw us as – puppets.

A tight grip on my hand made me look away from the happenings below me.

Luca, who held my hand, had her head towards the ground and though I couldn't quite make out her expression, the tone in which she spoke said it all. "This isn't right Nii-san."

"I know," I answered at length. "But this is our reality."

I was amazed at how calm I sounded.

"You shouldn't look away Luca," Lua spoke in a strangely quiet voice. "Hey, Nii-san, aren't these are the types of battles that we'll be facing from now on."

I answered with a sardonic tilt to my lips.

"Yes."

.

.

.

.

 _The gravity of the situation had only just began to sink in._

* * *

Word Count: 3831

* * *

A/N: Sky gets air sick, hah. I truly couldn't resist doing piece from Ushio's point of view, just as I couldn't resist mentioning Yugi, even if it was just one line. And as for Aki, I look forward to focusing on her developing her powers.

I'm dedicating the following omake to Ibara yuki. Thanks for being such a faithful reader and reviewer!

* * *

Omake – Valentine's Day Special

Time-line: During Pre World Racing Grand Prix Arc

– _Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving_ _happier_ – Mother Teresa

Start

"Adults are so weird," Lua commented as his gaze flitted over his surroundings. He and his sister were currently in the mall. It was as if they had entered a sea of red and white – what with the streamers and balloons and signs and mascots. It was all a barrage of hearts and confetti. It was Valentine's Day.

And it was all so mushy. Ugh.

Lua's nose crinkled as yet another couple passed by them – hand holding, in matching outfits and all.

"I think it's kind of sweet," Luca declared as she swung her legs back and forth from where they sat – on a bench closest to the largest fountain at the very centre of the mall.

Lua snorted. "The only thing sweet is the chocolate and the other pastries," he mumbled good-naturedly. His brows furrowed as a thought suddenly dawned on him. "Do you think Nii-san would ever be like that with someone?"

His question gave his sister pause and Lua watch as Luca tilted her head in contemplation.

"Of course," she finally answered, "It's only natural that Nii-san falls in love."

"Who would she fall for though?" A moment of silence pass between them, before a mischievous grin crossed Lua's face.

"Jack?" he suggested slyly.

His remark was rewarded with a bout of giggles that escaped his sister's mouth.

He was about to make another bold comment – about how Nii-san could fall for Bruno, seeing as she was the first to accept him and with arms wide open – when a flash of orange caught his attention.

He snapped his head to the right and sure enough he watched as Crow and his familiar spiky orange tuft of hair stroll by him.

He nudged his sister, pointed in Crow's direction and once she had spotted him as well, he opened his mouth to beckon to him.

"Crow!" a voice called out – but it hadn't been Lua's or Luca's.

The twins blinked owlishly and watched surprised as Skylar bounded up to Crow. They watched as the two exchanged a few words – Crow chatting animatedly and Skylar-nii-san gave a small smile as she replied in turn.

Then the two began walking together side by side before they were swallowed up in the Valentine's Day crowd.

Lua gaped.

"Are Crow and Nii-san dating?" he blurted out as he stood.

His sister scoffed, rising to her feet as well. "Don't jump to conclusions," she berated. "Just because they just happen to be with each other in the mall on Valentine's Day doesn't mean that they're dating….right?"

Lua shrugged in answer before his eyes lit up at the thought of a plan. "Let's follow them."

Even before he had finished his sentence, he had already begun to move in the direction in which Crow and his Nii-san disappeared.

"Lua, wait up!"

* * *

It had been a clement day for all the occupants situated in the apartment behind Poppo Time. There was no noise save for the whirring of the Duel Runners as Yusei and Bruno went about various upgrades. There was also the clacking of glassware and the quiet sipping of one Jack Atlas as he enjoyed his Blue-Eyes Mountain Coffee.

Jack gave a contented sigh.

It was peaceful indeed…

"Guys! Guys! Guys!"

…or at least it was.

Jack's brow twitched as the apartment door was thrown open and in sped the loudest of the green-haired twins.

Luca was the next to enter, closing the door behind her before she joined her brother's side.

"What's up you guys?" Yusei asked as he returned his attention to the diagnostic test he had been running on his computer screen.

Lua took a deep breath before he announced, "Crow and Skylar-nii-san are dating!"

Jack suppressed a snort of disbelief even as his eyes slid over towards where Yusei was working.

Yusei's fingers ceased moving over the keypad momentarily, before they continued at their initial speed.

Jack smirked.

"What makes you say that?" the spiky haired duelist asked.

"We saw them at the mall today," Luca answered.

"So?" Jack questioned even though he was secretly amused.

"Duh, it's Valentine's Day," Lua intoned and Jack's brow twitched once more. "I mean – they've been together all day."

"That doesn't mean that they're dating," Bruno added his bit, before mumbled, "Though I don't know much about that stuff anyway."

"Come on, we've been following them around all day," Lua pressed, "They went to the bakery to buy chocolate _and_ cake and then they went and bought a ton of ice-cream. They had lunch together and then they went to that toy store and bought fluffy plushies. They even went to the jewellery store and bought _matching_ bracelets."

By the time Lua had finished speaking, everyone had stopped what they had been doing and were now giving him their full attention.

"They were laughing and smiling and everything. Ask Luca, she was there too," Lua finished as he indicated to his twin, who only gave a slow nod in confirmation.

There was a pause.

"Maybe they are dating," Bruno spoke up. Jack admitted that it did sound strange…but then again when it came to Crow and Skylar strange was pretty common.

"I doubt it," Yusei finally said to which Jack rolled his eyes.

But before he could voice his thoughts in the form of a scathing reply another voice sounded throughout the apartment.

"You know if you're really that curious, you could just ask?"

Everyone turned, only to see Skylar resting against the door frame.

Lua chuckled nervously. "H-hey, Nii-san," he greeted. "How's it going?"

Skylar rolled her eyes.

"Come on," she straightened up before she smiled down at them all, "We've got a party to go to."

* * *

Luca and Lua blinked in wonder at the sight before them.

They, along with Yusei, Bruno, Jack and Skylar-nii-san stood outside of Martha's house, which was a lot larger given that an entire building had been added to the property.

But that wasn't the thing that gave them pause. It was the courtyard – that had Valentine's Day decorations set out (balloons, streamers, etc.) – and the many of children that were in the courtyard. They all had plushies, wore bracelets and were stuffing their faces with either cake or chocolate.

"So you and Crow aren't dating?" Bruno asked.

Skylar gave a small, amused smile as she shook her head in the negative.

"We just decided to give the kids at the orphanage a Valentine's Day surprise," Skylar explained.

Crow, who had long since bounded up to them, along with Aki, grinned at his friends. "It was a really last minute thing, so we didn't get to do up any invitations. Then again we wanted it to be a surprise."

"It's mostly for the kids. But we thought that it'd be best if everyone came," Aki, who had been asked to help out, continued, "Valentine's Day isn't just for couples."

"Valentine's Day means more than romance. _Love_ means more than romance," Skylar added, "These kids deserve to know that and just as much they need to know that they're loved too."

"Family and friends," Crow beamed, "That's what this day is about."

Finally, Jack huffed in amusement. "That was really cheesy. What is this? Some kind of sappy friendship drama?" he began.

A vein in Crow's forehead pulsed, "Why you –"

"What Jack means," Yusei stepped towards Crow, "Good job you three."

"Alright!" Crow cheered, "Let's go have some fun!"

Luca and Lua glanced at each other as the elder ones of their group moved away from them.

"This day wasn't so bad," Luca commented.

"Yeah," Lua answered as he placed his hands behind his head. He grinned. "It's still pretty mushy though."

Luca giggled.

End

* * *

A/N: One of the best kinds of love to show is to one's family and friends. Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I encourage you to spread the love - just remind the persons around you that they are loved.

The omake was really fun to write, even though it's a bit rushed. I hope that you have fun reading it nonetheless.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed/viewed/favourited/followed!

Constructive criticism/comments/questions/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

U.P.: Sign Out


	24. Chapter 24

I do not own Yugioh!5D's

Chapter 24 Battle Preparation

– _We may stumble and fall but shall rise again; it should be enough if we did not run away from the battle –_ Mahatma Gandhi

* * *

I felt pity for Yusei, after all, he'd just watched his long-time friend disappear – as ash blown away by the wind – within his very arms.

In the end Riley had ended up turning his own duel monster against himself. He had given up his pseudo second chance.

The anguished yell that Yusei released as he dropped to his knees struck a chord within me. My feet began moving on their own accord and before I knew it the twins and I were running towards Yusei.

As we ran the amethyst flames dissipated and the spider webs dissolved. As if he were a convergence point, everyone who had left the house met up around Yusei.

No sooner had everyone (sans Jack and I) worriedly called out Yusei's name than Rudger's voice had sounded throughout the debris filled range.

"That was quite the interesting show."

So he hadn't left – shame.

All of us turned our gazes in the direction of the voice, trying to find the exact location of the Dark Signer. We didn't have to look far. Rudger peered down at us, mockingly from a large slab of concrete. Behind him stood five other individuals – the other Dark Signers.

I frowned. Something didn't seem right.

"But, this is where the battle between Signers and Dark Signers comes to breaking point," Rudger declared, a malicious grin stretch across his face.

The man closest to Rudger, whose face was obscured by the hood of his yellow trimmed robes, stepped forward.

"Each battle will be decided by the stars of fate." His low voice was unsettling.

"What do you mean?" Aki was the first of us to speak up.

Her question was ignored as another person stepped forth. Pale hair framed a face that wore a vindictive grin. This person's robes had dark blue trimmings. "Don't think you've conquered your fear of the Earthbound Gods Yusei!"

So this was Yusei's ex-friend who was out to get him…he certainly looked the part.

"There should be plenty of fear still left. Fear towards me that is…" He broke off into a crazed laugh.

I grimaced. He sounded the part too.

"Yeah, I'm afraid." Yusei began as he rose from the ground. "…of my own rage over how much I want to beat you guys!"

There was a pause. Despite the situation, I clenched the bridge of my nose and suppressed a groan at the terrible line.

"Dark Signers. I will never forgive you!"

Aforementioned duelists didn't seemed phased by his statement. They didn't seem concerned in the least.

The same Dark Signer who had first spoken focused his attention on Luca as he began to address her.

"Young girl," he held up a card – Ancient Fairy Dragon. "This card belonged to you, right?"

Luca hesitantly stepped forward. "If you wish to retrieve this card, challenge me to a battle. I will neither run nor hide."

I stood behind her protectively. I really didn't like that man.

"My name is Demak. I am the Dark Signer with the Monkey's Birthmark." And with the tug of his sleeve, he showed us the Dark Signer mark that branded his right.

Nothing much else was said as we just stared at our opposition. I glanced over all of them, matching each to a Signer. But there was…one extra?

My eyes rested upon the hooded figure that stood to Misty's right. He wore a magenta trimmed robe that looked similar to the one Demak wore only it was close fitting and had long sleeves.

The longer I stared at the seemingly out of place Dark Signer, the greater my trepidation grew.

My eyes widened in realization. Was he the one that _I_ was to face? But…but who…?

"Well then, let us meet at your fated destinations…each of your stars fate."

At Rudger's final proclamation, a thin fog rolled in and simultaneously the Dark Signers turned and began to walk away.

I couldn't just let them walk away. Not without confirming at least, who the person was. Not without confirming who it was that I had damned with my presence in this world.

"Wait! We're finishing things right now!" Yusei yelled after they began their retreat. Without prompt Yusei, _Jack_ and I ran after them.

I vaguely heard someone call out my name, but I pressed forward regardless.

I lost sight of Jack and Yusei in the thickened fog, but thoughts of finding them were far from my mind – I knew that no more duels would be fought tonight. I slowed to a jog as I my eyes scanned my surroundings. My gaze was brought forward when ahead of me, the fog thinned considerably and I soon came upon the sole person I had initially been after.

I stopped mere feet away. The Dark Signer's back was towards me, though he seemed to have been waiting for me for at least a few seconds.

My eyes roved up and down the Signer's back. As weird as it may sound, I…recognized that posture, that gait. It was two parts confident, one part awkward and so familiar.

Familiar – I knew this person.

I clutched my forearms, bringing them closer to my chest as I suppressed a sudden chill that travelled through my entire body.

"…Who are you?" I didn't want to ask but I felt compelled to do so anyway.

"…Do you really have to ask?"

My mouth went dry and my throat closed up as the soft tenor of the Signer's voice reached my ears.

 _'_ _Th-that voice!'_

I watched with wide eyes as the figure turned towards me and pulled back his hood. The final nail was put through the coffin.

Magenta hair was no longer styled in a low ponytail with one eye covered – now both eyes were visible, the hair caught up in a mid-high tuft. Dull, magenta irises within black sclera stared at me impassively – _distantly_.

I took an unsteady step backwards – so unsteady in fact that I lost my balance and ended up falling to the ground. I winced as I felt a stabbing pain in my palms.

A familiar, concerned expression flashed across his face before it was gone, as if it were never there.

I released a shaky breath.

"No," I whispered vehemently as I clenched my eyes close. There was no way that this was real. There was no way that this person could be standing before me in such a capacity – not as a Dark Signer.

"Look at me…Skylar."

I shook my head furiously. I wouldn't. I couldn't. I couldn't look. Then I'd have to accept that this was real and that this was actually happening. That _he_ was a Dark Signer and that it was all my fault and that I'd ruined his life –

My eyes shot open when I felt two hands suddenly grab both sides of my head. His eyes locked with mine and I saw a wave of emotions dance within his gaze. There was guilt and regret and longing and sadness and fury – no doubt these were the very emotions that my gaze conveyed as well. Finally though – the emotions settled and that impassive glaze in his eyes was once more present – there was acceptance.

"Accept it."

I blinked rapidly, ignoring the wetness at the corners of my eyes. My jaw clenched as I did my best to school my features.

Accept the things that you can't change – that's what he was telling me. And this was something I couldn't change.

Easier said than done – but he was right. I wished he wasn't, but he was right. Neither of us really had the time to prolong what already was.

"Where can I find you…Yoshi?" I asked softly – defeated – as he rose to his feet.

That impassive expression twisted into something rueful before he answered just as softly.

"Follow the Black Rose," he spoke as he turned from me.

I bowed my head and closed my eyes, my hair shadowing my face.

I couldn't watch him walk away.

* * *

 _"_ _You'll always be my best friend Skylar."_

 _My nose crinkled a bit. "That was really sappy, heart-felt, but sappy."_

 _Soft snickering followed my statement._

 _"_ _You'll always be my sister too."_

 _"_ _For Kami's sake, stop with the mush!" I whined, though my cheeks stung from how wide I was smiling._

* * *

The return to the house was bittersweet.

I was happy to see the kids happy that their foster brothers and foster mother were back safely. But realizing that my best friend had become a Dark Signer greatly subdued that feeling of elation.

At the moment our rag-tag team of Singers along with Saiga, Mikage and Tetsu were situated in the small dining area – going over all that we had learnt during the night. I didn't contribute much and I chipped in and out of the conversation every now and then.

So far they had resolved that if they beat the Dark Signers then the souls that were lost, at least some of them, would be returned.

A drowning man will clutch at a straw indeed.

I knew that what they had summarised was true, but they didn't know. They had such faith…

"I want to duel to protect all of you!" Aki boldly declared. I stared at her from my seat at the table. I stared at her as she spoke with such fervour. There was that faith, there was that resolve.

I looked down at my open palms.

My faith and my resolve were laid in a future where I didn't have to duel my best friend. Having that fact thrown back in my face and having to deal with it…

"We have to close the doors of the underworld," Mikage added solemnly.

There was that too. It was highly likely that my duel would be key in whether or not the 'doors of the underworld' remained closed.

 _'_ _Great, more pressure.'_

"By the way, they said, 'We'll be waiting for you at your stars of fate'," Saiga spoke up for the first time, "So, what did they mean by 'stars of fate'?"

My eyes fluttered shut as Mikage spoke of the four controllers that used to control Old Momentum – the four controllers that acted as a seal.

Ccapac Apu – Giant

Ccarayhua – Lizard

Aslla Piscu – Hummingbird

Cusillu – Monkey

All four really confusing Quechuan names and their translations – the name of all the geoglyphs that had vanished.

With the exception of one of course – the spider mark, Uru, which was the name given to Old Momentum itself.

"To seal Old Momentum, one must activate the controllers."

"And the only way to activate these controllers is by the use of the four Dragon cards," I announced briskly. I needed some alone time and while I would've really liked to have gotten up and left that would have been too troublesome. The better option would be to speed this discussion along.

"Stardust Dragon, Black Rose Dragon, Red Demons Dragon and Ancient Fairy Dragon," I listed them off and by the end of it I had everyone's attention.

"That's right," Mikage answered at length. "How did you know that?"

"It doesn't matter. None of what happened in the past matters at this point," I brushed her off, though I didn't truly believe that – of course it mattered _how_ Yoshi had become a Dark Signer. "What matters are the effects in the present and how we're going to deal with them."

I narrowed my gaze at her as I thought of Goodwin and all his manipulations and his ultimate motive.

"Only we can stop the Dark Signers. This world's future has been left in our hands. We can only hope that we don't screw it up."

I could only hope that _I_ don't screw it up for everyone else.

Silence reigned as everyone looked at me as if I had grown a second head. And maybe it did seem that way. I was being rather talkative and curt.

 _'_ _And I haven't told anyone about Yoshi yet.'_

I released a deep sigh as I rose from my seat. I wasn't doing anyone any favours as I was after all.

"I'll be outside," I mumbled, before I headed towards the door. I didn't want to short change the explanation any more than I already had. Maybe leaving was the best option at this point.

Besides I needed to cool down either way. Hopefully some fresh air would do me some good.

* * *

It didn't take long for someone to come outside to find me – and it was Aki Izayoi of all persons.

I sat on one of the swings that was a part of the swing set situated behind the house. As I gently swayed back and forth, I couldn't help but furrow my brows when she sat on the swing beside me.

Soon she too began to swing back and forth.

"I haven't done this in a while," she said conversationally.

Without meaning to, my mind's eye flashed back to one of my younger days. There had been one day in particular, back when I had been at Casper City Duel Academy, when Yoshi had bribed me into going to a playground with him. The only thing that I had agreed to go on was a swing (and a slide).

 _"_ _I really hope no one comes by and sees me," I mumbled as I stood behind Yoshi who sat on the seat._

 _"_ _Don't push me to hard," Yoshi asked, "I don't want to go up too high."_

 _"_ _Wimp," I mocked but proceeded to gently push him nonetheless._

My eyes fluttered close. "I guess I haven't either."

"Was it someone you knew well?" Aki asked. She had taken so long to ask that I had almost been sure that we would have spent the rest of our time in silence.

There was no point in asking her what she meant. We both knew who she was referring to.

I stopped swinging and Aki followed suit. "He was my first friend," I answered at length, "He was my brother."

"Your first friend?" Aki whispered. There was a broken quality to her voice. "And overnight he seemed to have become someone…dark. I know the feeling."

My grip on the swing's chains tightened as I bit my tongue. I wanted to tell her pointedly that Yoshi and Divine were completely different – Yoshi had been good, pure, from the very beginning. He'd have never willingly become someone like a Dark Signer. Divine though – I had no doubt that if it were in the name of turning this world on its head, he'd do anything.

Instead of saying any of that though, I spoke another cheerless thought.

"The path of a Dark Signer…Yoshi would have to have died."

Yoshi…in another life, where I didn't exist, he wasn't a Dark Signer. He hadn't died.

How _had_ Yoshi died? Had he been in pain? What were his last thoughts?

"You're not alone in this," Aki spoke up over my depressing thoughts. I turned my head towards her, searching her expression. The fire in her eyes displayed nothing but confidence and support.

I never thought that Aki of all persons would be the one to direct such a face towards me.

I hummed contemplatively and a sombre silence settled between us and for a while we both just stared out into the night sky.

"I'm going to have to duel Yoshi," I mumbled eventually, "I'm going to have to duel him and win."

As far as dueling between the two of us went when we were in school – 6/10 times I won…but that was years ago. Who knows how powered up he's gotten since then?

"You can do it. We all have faith in you."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. But I felt something warm bubble up in my chest regardless.

"We can still save them. We may not be able to redeem their lives…but at least we can redeem their souls," Aki smiled, "All of their souls."

In that instance I knew that Aki wasn't only talking about my saving Yoshi. No doubt she herself was thinking of Misty.

My face broke out into a small smile. The Aki beside me was a far cry from the Aki that I had faced during the Fortune Cup. She was maturing so much and so quickly.

"Thank you Aki," I expressed earnestly. She beamed at me.

"I'm just doing what any friend would."

* * *

"So glad you decided to re-join the class," Jack's sarcastic drawl greeted me as Aki and I made our way to the dining area.

It seemed as if they had just about settled where each Signer had to go to face their opponent.

Mikage, who was peering over at a map of sorts, raised her eyes towards me.

"We've all decided that the best plan of attack is for each Signer to face their opponents separately."

I nodded that made sense. We didn't have much time left to close the underworld doors either way.

Mikage continued. "Yusei-san will be heading towards the symbol of the Giant. Luca-chan and Lua-kun need to go to the controller with the Monkey symbol and Atlas-sama has decided to go the Hummingbird."

Mikage straightened as she turned her attention to Aki. "That means that Aki-san has to go to the Lizard, seeing as that's where her opponent, Misty, is. Aki-san, you will go in my car."

"I'll be keeping shop again," Saiga added, "I'll help out Martha with the kids, so you guys relax and head off."

"Ushio-san will be transporting us to our location Nii-san," Luca piped up as she bounded up towards me.

I ruffled her hair as I gave her an apologetic smile.

"I'll have to go with Aki," I admitted.

At my statement, a small frown formed on her face. Lua was at his sister's side in an instant.

"But Nii-san!" Lua protested, but I shook my head.

"Someone's waiting for me there."

Lua and Luca looked as if they were ready to make further objections, when Yusei stepped forward and placed a hand on each of their shoulders.

With their eyes on him, a shake of his head was enough to stall whatever else they were going to say.

He shot an encouraging smile towards me before he glanced at everyone else in the room. An air of finality settled among us and Yusei nodded resolutely. Everything had been decided.

"We head out first thing tomorrow morning!"

* * *

 ** _Lub-dub_**

 ** _Lub-dub_**

"Be still my beating heart," I mumbled, placing my hand over my chest. I was feeling decidedly antsier seeing as after this point, we'd all be going our separate ways to fight our own battles.

Morning had come a lot sooner than I had expected – though one honestly couldn't tell that it was morning. Thick, dark, ominous clouds filled the sky – the sun was nowhere to be seen.

We had long since crossed over the bridge that lead into the deeper, more dangerous part of Satellite. Tetsu and Mikage were each in their cars, with the twins and Aki as their respective passengers. Jack, Yusei and I were each on our D-wheels – Yusei being closer to Tetsu and the twin, while Jack and I were over on the far right, closer to Mikage and Aki.

All was silent save the engines of the vehicles present.

I took a deep breath as my hands tightened over my Runner handles.

"Will you be okay, Luca, Lua?" Yusei queried.

Luca nodded in answer.

"I'll be tagging along, after all!" Lua chirped.

I smiled.

"Good. Make sure that you two look out for each other."

They nodded resolutely.

"If it's the two of you, you can do it."

"We'll be cheering for you too Nii-san!" Lua grinned, giving me a thumbs up.

"You better take care of my twins Tetsu," I warned the Public Security officer, who offered a thumbs up in my direction.

"If you're all done now…" Jack began. I gave him a sheepish sort of grin to which he rolled his eyes.

"From this point on, your own skills are the only things that'll decide the outcome!" Jack's voice was clear and strong.

"Everyone, the Dark Signers aren't the type to be beaten so easily," Yusei added, his own tone unwavering and resolute, "We're going to be forced into some tough battles, but when that happens, just remember that each one of us are friends!"

I closed my eyes and tried my best to banish the thoughts of cynicism that were beginning to pop up. The real world wasn't like that but…it wasn't such a bad thing to believe in.

"Even if we're all apart, we're linked with bonds that are strong! Everyone, let's be sure to win and meet again!"

With a final nod to us all, Yusei revved his engine and sped off.

"I wish us good luck in battle!" That was the final thing Jack said before he too began on his path.

I glanced at the twins one last time and held their gazes. I wanted to tell them a multitude of things – that they'd get hurt but that they'd be all right, that they'd be scared but that they could do it – but none of those words came.

There was no time for such complicated words.

Instead I gave them my most assuring smile, "I believe in you both." Then without further fanfare I started my D-wheel and drove off, Mikage and Aki immediately following behind me.

.

.

.

.

 _"_ _And so let us move onwards…each to our own battle."_

* * *

Word Count: 3575

* * *

A/N: And so Sky has met up with Dark Signer!Yoshi. I'm really looking forward to their duel. And we had Aki and Sky bonding.

Anyway, I hope to wrap up the Dark Signer Arc soon.

* * *

Omake – A Mother Always Worries

Start

Jack Atlas sighed.

He couldn't get any sleep. Not when he would have to face Carly in just a matter of hours.

He entered the kitchen, intent on getting some water, when he paused, seeing Martha busy herself over the kitchen counter.

"Martha," he began as he walked up behind her, "What are you doing up?"

He had seen the light on – but he hadn't expected for her to be one of the persons that was still up.

She answered without turning around – knife in hand as she chopped up the assortment of vegetables before her.

"I'm making some snacks for you all to take with you tomorrow."

"We're going to the fight of our lives," Jack deadpanned. "We are not packing lunch."

There was a pause in which nothing was heard save for Matha's knife hitting against the cutting board and the pot of boiling water to her right.

"It's the only thing I can do while I watch my boys head out and fight," she answered solemnly. And Jack couldn't help but feel a bit of guilt as he watched her shoulders sag.

Jack considered Martha. Of course Martha was scared for them, of course she was worried. That's what mothers always did – foster or not.

"Will you take that from me?"

Jack, unable to find an answer, conceded.

End

* * *

Omake – Variance: Yoshi

Start

Skylar had set out to find him – he could sense it. All the Signers had set out. It was only a matter of time before the Underworld Duels would finally begin.

But he couldn't leave to meet her just yet.

 _'_ _Not yet.'_

As he sat on the simple cot in his small, dimly lit room (cell), Yoshi waited. Soon enough, heavy footsteps sounded from the empty corridor beyond his room, before coming to a stop at his door.

The heavy, metal door groaned as it was pushed open. Yoshi stood, briefly glanced towards the entrant, before he lowered his gaze and head submissively.

"Where is Misty, boy?" Rudger's gruff voice spoke.

"She has already gone out, to wait for the Black Rose at the designated area," he answered, his tone soft.

"And why haven't you gone with her?"

"I wanted to greet your visitor for you, Rugder-sama."

The Dark Signers' Leader scoffed. "Rex is someone I am more than capable of handling. Just ensure that you handle that glitch of ours."

Yoshi subtly hid his clenched fists behind his back.

"You're the best one for the job," Rudger trailed off with a sinister leer.

"Send an anomaly to deal with an anomaly," Yoshi supplied dutifully.

"You've learnt well," the spider-mark bearer grinned maliciously before he turned and began to walk away.

Yoshi lifted his head.

"Come," Rudger ordered without looking back.

Yoshi sneered at the man's back.

 _'_ _Not yet,'_ he reminded himself. Yoshi took a deep breath before he schooled his expression and followed.

Not yet…but soon.

End

* * *

A/N: So, Martha was saved in the previous chapter and I couldn't resist doing an omake from her POV. How would a mother feel watching her kids go off in battle. I wanted to go a bit more in-depth, but I decided to leave it as is. Maybe I'll do a follow up one a bit later on. And finally for the second omake – Yoshi and Rudger have an interesting history. I look forward to divulging more in future chapters.

Does anyone have any omake/snippets that they'd like to see? Let me know

Thanks to everyone who reviewed/viewed/favourited/followed!

Constructive criticism/comments/questions/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

U.P.: Sign Out


	25. Chapter 25

I do not own Yugioh!5D's

Chapter 25 – Stretch

– _Alleged 'impossibilities' are opportunities for our capacities to be stretched_ – Charles R. Swindoll

* * *

She'd gotten braver. She was stronger. And the fact that she herself noticed, that made Luca extremely happy.

After all, here she was in the Duel Spirit's World, attempting to pull the proverbial wool over the eyes of a Tyrant Monkey Demon King and all of her free will.

…She hadn't seen any of this coming. A few weeks ago, she'd never have imagined herself in such a position.

But thankfully she wasn't alone. She had the support of her friends and with the level of courage that they themselves had shown, she could do nothing less but match that.

She had Regulus – a bold and noble lion, servant of Ancient Fairy Dragon. He'd been fighting in the Spirit World all by himself for the longest time. That he managed to last as long as he did – fighting and evading the Tyrant King's Monkey Soldiers, being hurt and injured and worrying about his Mistress – before calling her here was truly inspiring.

She also had Trunka – her (mostly) willing magician companion. Whereas when she had first wandered into the Spirit world and so many of the other Spirits had fled from her – he had rescued her and had guided her to Regulus even though he hadn't been obliged to so do. And on top that he had done that even though he had been turned into a child – many would have used that as an excuse to not help her.

She owed them a lot.

Even though her current company may as well account to the number of free Spirits left in the Duel Spirits' World. Everyone else, all the other spirits, they had all been minusized – trapped in stone.

Things weren't as they should be. The Duel Spirits' World should never be so desolate and deserted and dreary.

This was the world that she had to save.

But to do that she'd have to first save Ancient Fairy Dragon.

Then she'd have to find her way back to the Human World. Because her brother was fighting by himself.

Lua was that other person, that other person who made her know that she wasn't alone, that other person who gave her strength just because he was always himself.

Lua was absolutely remarkable. Even before she herself had accepted her duty and role in the whole battle with the Dark Signers, Lua had long since pledged himself to her – to defend her and fight for her – no matter what.

And that was exactly what he was doing. He was fighting Demak. He a non-Signer (though Luca felt deep down inside of her heart of hearts that he _should_ have been a Signer) was knowingly locked in battle with a Dark Signer in a duel that could and would (and no doubt already had) cost him injury and if he lost – his soul.

What her brother was displaying wasn't just courage – it was love. Love for the game, love for their friends and most importantly…love for her.

 _'_ _I'm coming Lua! Just wait a bit longer!'_

* * *

So monkeys were officially Lua's least favourite animals…ever. The next time his Nii-san carried he and Lua to the zoo, he be steering clear of the Monkey zone.

Lua had really wanted to finish this Demak guy by himself. So that Luca wouldn't have to feel the kind of pain he was currently in (Even though the Monkey Earthbound God's attack hadn't hit him directly, the aftershock of the attack was enough to leave him worse for wears).

"Lua!" was the urgent cry he heard as he rose – slowly, painstakingly – to his feet.

Yusei.

He had shown up before his battle with Demak had commenced. He had tried to talk him out of dueling. But Lua hadn't been able to listen to him.

He'd had another voice ringing through his mind.

 _"_ _Make sure that you two look out for each other."_

 _"_ _If it's the two of you, you can do it."_

 _"_ _I believe in you both."_

Everything Skylar-nii had said to them – well it had been indication enough to know that _both_ of them – both he and Luca – were meant to fight this battle.

Even now, even though across from him was a colossal monkey with an attack power that none of his monsters currently matched and even though he was down to 400 life points – he needed to remain strong.

He needed to hold out until Luca showed up. It was only together that they would win.

Lua stared defiantly at the man across from him. He couldn't lose – not here, not now. He was a hero of the highest calibre and he had so so much to protect. There was no way he was giving up.

Just as Lua reached towards his duel disk to draw his next card, a sudden and bright light emitted from behind him.

Then even before he turned around, Luca's frantic voice called out to him.

"Lua!"

Luca. Finally.

Lua's shoulders slumped in relief. His sister was back and – as he turned to stare at her, his eyes roved up and down, scanning her body for injuries – she was unharmed.

He gave her a shaky thumbs up – all of his limbs, his entire body felt sluggish and weak.

"Luca," Lua internally cringed at the dry, crackly sound of his voice, "You came back huh?"

He watched as her face crumpled into a worried expression as she looked at him from head to toe. He could only imagine how battered he looked.

"You fought, getting hurt this bad?" she asked as she took a shaky step forward, her eyes brimming with tears.

Lua felt his grin widen. And despite the fact his body felt as if it wanted to do nothing short of fall down, he held out his arms to wrap them around Luca's body when she rushed into his embrace.

"Even though faced against a Dark Signer…" she mumbled into his shoulder.

"Sorry," he mumbled, "I thought I would take care of him before you came back. You know – play the hero."

"You don't need to do it all alone anymore," she sniffed, "And I always knew you were a hero Lua. In my eyes…you're the best a hero could be."

Lua smiled as he hugged his sister just a bit tighter. His heart soared and his body tingled with happiness.

Luca words meant so much to him. _She_ meant so much to him.

A bout of deranged laughter brought his attention back to the matter at hand. "Now the gang's all here!"

Lua scowled as Luca stepped out of his arms and they turned to face Demak. "You will fall prey to Earthbound God Cusillu, young Signer!"

Luca settled beside him before she levelled the man before them with a hard look.

"You're the one who controlled Demonic Monkey King Zeman to collect all those Spirits' souls are you?"

Lua vaguely noted to ask for further details as to what had happened during her time in the Spirit World a bit later.

"I will never forgive you!" Luca continued, "For hurting the Spirits and hurting the one person I hold most dear!"

"Luca," Lua mumbled in awe. His little sister was speaking with such passion.

Before he knew it, his sister had turned to him. Reaching for the disk at his wrist, she began to remove it. "I'm dueling in your place Lua."

Lua's first instinct was to protest – to tell her no, that he had said he was going to protect her, that he should be the one to fight. But that was when something Skylar had said to him ran throughout his head once more:

 _"_ _If it's the two of you, you can do it."_

"Okay," he answered as he allowed her to fix the disk to her wrist. He'd done his part after all. He had done what he could have. Now it was time for Luca to continue this.

Besides, it wasn't as if he was going to leave her.

"I'll be right here beside you."

Luca nodded, "You did your best just for me Lua."

"I did work pretty hard," he admitted good-naturedly.

His twin beamed at him. "So I'll do my best, just as hard as you Lua."

And as soon as she had finished her sentence, he saw the mark on her arm begin to glow – bright and crimson. She turned her attention fully to Demak – a refreshing ferocity overtaking her expression that caused an unbidden smile to stretch across his face as he too, turned to stare at the man.

"Alright!" he cheered with renewed vigour, "Demak, you and you're monkey kingdom are going down!"

* * *

" **I won't lose**!"

I grinned as I rode, my mark alight. I spared a brief glance in the direction of where the Monkey geoglyph lit the sky.

Luca had finally joined the battle. And as I rode on feelings of _confidence_ , _courage_ , _strength_ flowed from my mark, I knew that she was ready.

"Yeah," I mumbled to myself, "Those two are more than ready."

* * *

Nothing was impossible – not if one had the heart of relentless pursuit. Lua showed her this – always. And finally, _finally_ , she was going to do him proud. She was going to make everyone – Skylar-nii, Yusei, Aki-nee, Jack – _everyone_ proud.

She wouldn't fail.

Not when things were now in her favour.

At last she had rescued Ancient Fairy Dragon from the desolate grasp of the Dark Signers. And at last she had nullified the effects of Demak's behemoth Monkey – its attack power was now drastically reduced and it was time for her to capitalize.

Victory was hers – no victory was _theirs_.

This was it.

This was their very last move.

"Ancient Fairy Dragon attack Earthbound God Cusillu!" she commanded, "Eternal Sunshine!"

It was finally time to put an end to this darkness.

Luca watched in nothing short of tired relief as Ancient Fairy Dragon spread its broad, butterfly-like wings and Demak's Earthbound god was attacked, _buffeted_ , _immersed_ , in the light that radiated from them. A light that seemed to chase away every ounce of darkness that had surrounded her and her brother for the entirety of the duel.

Luca gave a breathy sigh as she concluded that there was indeed nothing more far reaching than light – _pure_ light.

The amethyst flames around them dispersed – the ancient deity that they had been heralded having been defeated – gone with the wind as if it were dust.

"We did it huh, Luca," Lua declared from her right, his tone exhausted but light. She turned to look at her brother before she nodded.

"Now the spirits will all be free."

She saw Lua open his mouth, the grin he sported foretold the coming of witty comment, before his head snapped forward.

"How…could I…lose here?!" a raspy voice reached her ears. By the time Luca had diverted her attention towards the voice, she was looking over her brother's shoulders at a…withering Demak.

The man lamented as he stepped closer towards them, his movement – seemingly leaden and Luca's eyes widened when it seemed as if his body was becoming dust.

Was he fated to disappear as his monster had?

"Rudger-sama, forgive of me, Demak for being of no help!"

The man was getting closer and closer to them and looked as if he was about to lunge after them, if nothing else.

When Demak was a mere foot away, Lua sprang into action – dragging Luca as he made a sharp move to the right and placing her behind him once more, in case Demak followed still.

He didn't. He couldn't.

He had gone as far as he could after he had lost. His body had turned to dust before it had even hit the ground.

Lua gasped as he stepped even further back from where the man had fallen.

Luca herself gulped nervously as a shiver ran throughout her body. So that was what happened when one lost a duel with the Earthbound gods involved.

As Yusei and Ushio-san ran towards them, Luca squeezed her eyes shut and whispered a silent prayer.

She hoped to Kami that none of her friends lost.

" _Fear not Luca_ ," a familiar airy voice announced. A relieved grin appeared on Luca's face as the space before her was suddenly filled with light.

Before her stood Regulus and none other than Ancient Fairy Dragon – whole and colourful and beautiful and _free_.

"Beautiful," she murmured mesmerized as the dark thoughts seemed to slowly ebb from her mind.

" _If your friends duel with as much courage and hope as you did, they are sure to win_ ," Ancient Fairy Dragon continued. Her body swayed gently and the atmosphere around them became permeated with _peace_ and _lightness_.

"Wait," Ushio-san interrupted abruptly, "All the Solid Vision hasn't gone away yet?!"

Luca only just stopped herself from snickering at the sheer tone of disbelief the Sector Security officer spoke with, not to mention how surprised he looked.

" _We are no illusion human_ ," Regulus growled at him, raising his head regally.

"Then they're real?!" was the final exclamation before a solid thud was heard from behind where she, Lua and Yusei stood.

Luca turned around to stare down at the fallen figure before her, a few giggles escaping.

"Why are so many adults so hopeless?" Lua muttered from beside her with an amused grin of his own face. "What did he think all this was – some sort party trick?"

" _Luca, you have fought well_ ," Ancient Fairy Dragon addressed her, drawing her gaze once more. " _We have you to thank for saving the Spirit Realm_. "

Luca's cheeks flushed.

" _T he Spirits captured by the Earthbound god were able to safely return to their home – the Spirit Realm_."

"I'm glad that everyone was rescued!" the young girl cheered. She gazed at her brother who smiled mirrored her own, if not a bit wider. Then she turned to Yusei, who nodded his head at her, a small smile of his own in place.

"I really couldn't have done any of it without Lua by my side," she confessed easily, "And I always had Skylar-nii and Yusei – they've supported me every step of the way."

A dragon-like grin appeared on Ancient Dragon's face. " _Thank you Luca, Lua, Yusei. Thank you all_."

Beside her Lua beamed sheepishly, "It was no problem!"

Luca's smile waned a bit, but she made no retort – Lua looked more beat up than he ever had – not wanting to ruin the elated atmosphere.

It was at that point that Yusei stepped forward.

"Ancient Fairy Dragon, will you fight the Dark Signers with us?"

" _Yes of course_ ," the Duel Spirit responded, " _The Dark Signers cannot be allowed to run rampant, else the Spirit Realm come under danger once again_."

Ancient Fairy's voice was steady and seemed to increase in intensity with each word spoken. " _I shall fight with you, transcending five-thousand years' time_! "

" _The same goes for me!_ " Regulus boldly declared, " _'Til my life comes at an end_ _!_ "

With that assurance made, both spirits transformed into streams of light that converged within Luca's palms – both Spirits in their card form and both _finally_ in her sole possession.

She grasped the cards to her chest.

Things had turned out better than she had expected. Victory over the Dark Signers seemed that much more possible – and for that she was thankful.

* * *

When Lua, along with Luca, Ushio-san and Yusei, had seen the Killer Whale Geoglyph in the sky, he had thought that the symbol belonged to the Dark Signer that Skylar-nii-san had to face.

When he found out that whoever was facing that Dark Signer wasn't a Signer – he had been both worried and relieved.

He was worried because that meant that a new evil duelist had cropped up – a part of Lua wondered just how Dark Signers came to be while another part figured that he was better off not knowing.

He was relieved because…well his Nii-san wasn't in a duel – her duel hadn't started yet. There was still a possibility that they could get to her and help her. He had needed help and though he knew that his Nii-san was a better duelist than he was…the fact remained that apart from both he and Luca, of she was the one with the least experience in dueling.

Jack and Yusei were powerful duelists – the former was the ex-King of Riding Duels while the latter person had been the one to dethrone him. And then there was Aki-nee-chan – she had spent a long time with the Arcadia Movement, dueling for them and she had her psychic abilities, regardless of the fact that she couldn't control them very well.

Thankfully (and in some way – unfortunately) it hadn't been Skylar who had been locked in a Duel of the Underworld.

It had been one of Yusei's old friends – Crow.

Crow Hogan – a teen with a personality as bright and shocking as his spikey, orange tuft of hair and that was only contrasted by the steely look in his dark-grey irises.

Well he was more than Yusei's old friend really. During the short period of time that he and Luca had spent at Martha's house – they had heard stories of Yusei, Jack and Crow. Crow was Jack and Yusei's foster brother.

Maybe that was why he was such a strong duelist – maybe it was just a thing with the three of them.

Lua really respected Crow's abilities.

Lua thought that it was amazing that Crow was able to defeat Bomber all on his own. And that had been another thing – _Bomber_ had become a Dark Signer. That one had hit very close to home. Bomber had been someone that he himself had faced…and lost to in the Fortune Cup. Though Lua knew that it didn't make sense to draw parallels…he wondered if he had been the one to face Dark Signer Bomber, Lua wondered if he would have won.

Shaking his head – deciding not to think of the situation any further – Lua brought his attention to Yusei and Crow.

"You going to where Kiryu is, Yusei?" Crow asked.

"Yeah, my battle is just getting started," Yusei answered and just as Yusei began to rev his engine to speed off, Lua spoke up.

"I think that Luca and I should hurry to Nii-san."

Yusei paused and all eyes turned to him, but he didn't back down.

"Nii-san is going to be fighting a Dark Signer soon. She needs us there to support her," he began, indicating to his sister who was beside him. "You and Crow can go and find Kiryu and Ushio-san can take us to find Nii-san."

Understanding flickered through Yusei's gaze before he spoke exactly what Lua was thinking. "You're worried about her," he correctly concluded.

The green-haired boy nodded in answer.

Yusei's brows furrowed ever so slightly as he contemplated his request.

"I think that it would be best if you all followed me. We don't know how many other Dark Signers are out there. I don't want to leave you two unguarded if I can help it," Yusei explained after a brief pause.

And Lua felt his spirit drop a bit.

Yusei gave him a reassuring smile. "Skylar will win her duel," he began, "She'd never do anything that would hurt either of you."

Skylar losing – losing the duel, losing her soul – would do more than 'hurt' them. Lua felt that even the word 'devastated' would be an understatement.

The confidence in Yusei's voice, however, made Lua smile – as small as it was.

"Okay, Lua?"

Lua hesitated, but ultimately dipped his head in agreement.

"I trust you Yusei."

* * *

Word Count: 3253

* * *

Omake: Warning

Start

Yusei paused at the side of the house, watching as Skylar absentmindedly swayed back and forth on the swing. He'd noticed that she'd seemed…troubled when she'd reunited with everyone after running into the fog.

He had wondered just who she had encountered, but he hadn't wanted to press her. He'd been surreptitiously keeping an eye on her and at the moment he was contemplating whether or not to approach her.

It'd been a while since they'd last talked, one-on-one at least.

Yusei had long since figured that Skylar wasn't the type to actively speak about what was on her mind – but if someone was willing to wait and then listen, she'd open up…albeit only to a small degree.

Making up his mind, Yusei took a step forward, but paused when he saw a flash of red from the corner of his eyes. He retracted his foot and watched as Aki slowly made her way towards Skylar.

His lips quirked into a small smile as he watched Aki sit on the swing adjacent to Skylar. He nodded approvingly – those two would do each other good, he was confident of that. He was looking forward to seeing the bond between them grow.

Surmising that he was no longer needed, he silently turned to return to the others.

But as soon as he slipped through the back door, he happened upon his foster mother, who had been gazing through the window, both girls in her line of sight.

Yusei waited, knowing that Martha would soon voice her thoughts.

"They seem like very nice girls," Martha concluded.

Yusei gave her a small smile as his gaze flickered towards the girls outside. He nodded in affirmation.

"They are," he agreed.

"You better take care of those two girls now Yusei," Martha said with a firm tone – the kind of tone that, in his younger days, equated to undesired consequences if he failed to obey her.

The corners of his mouth quirked upwards despite the warning.

Soon though, sooner than he had expected, his foster mother's stern expression wavered as her lips took on a teasing tilt and delighted mischief flashed in her eyes.

Yusei's smile dropped, even before the woman continued.

"One of them might very well end up being your wife someday," she said coyly.

"Martha," was his exasperated reply.

End

* * *

Omake: Teasing (Alternate)

 _In which Yusei was the one to speak with Skylar on the swing_ :

Start

"There's nothing that we can't do – not when our friends are there with us," Yusei declared as he rose from the swing.

He turned to face Skylar and offered her his hand. "Come on. It's time to get back to the others."

Skylar gave a small snort. "It's always friendship is magic with you," she muttered as she took his hand.

He gave her a bemused look as she stood to her feet, but before he could ask her what she meant, she waved him off and began walking towards the house.

Yusei huffed, slightly amused, before he fell in step beside her.

Just as the two entered the house – through the door that led to the kitchen – a teasing voice sounded throughout the room.

"Ah, so you're _Yusei's_ girlfriend."

Skylar blinked owlishly as both she and Yusei turned to their right to glance at Martha, who looked far too entertained for Yusei's taste.

"Um, No I'm not ma'am," Skylar answered a bit awkwardly.

"Well he is a handsome boy, so I don't blame you for liking him." Martha nodded her head matter-of-factly, as if she hadn't heard Skylar's denial.

Said girl bit her lip, unsure as to how to continue.

"Martha," Yusei beckoned to his foster mother, exasperation obvious in his tone.

The orphanage's matron waved him off, before she winked at the slim, green-eyed girl.

"You know I thought he'd fallen for the Senator's daughter," she whispered conspiratorially, sounding as if she was only moments away from laughing out loud.

Despite the situation, Skylar found her lips quirking into a small smile before she slowly bobbed her head in agreement.

"Who says he hasn't?" she joked.

Her response had Yusei pulling her out of the kitchen, leaving a snickering Martha behind them.

End

* * *

A/N: This chapter was initially longer but I decided to cut it and use it for the next chapter. With that said this chapter was a very Twin-centric one. I don't plan on giving as much attention to Yusei's and Jack's duel with Kiryu and Carly respectively.

I enjoyed writing the omakes though. Martha is a riot - I love using her to embarrass Yusei in some way.

The next chapter will take a while seeing as I'm going to be very busy for the next few weeks.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed/viewed/favourited/followed!

Constructive criticism/comments/questions/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

U.P.: Sign Out


	26. Chapter 26

I do not own Yugioh!5D's

Chapter 26 – Anomalies

– _The worst battle you'll have to fight is between what you know and how you fee_ l – Turcois Ominek

* * *

"The Hummingbird hieroglyph in sky!" Mikage exclaimed as she spared a glance to her right, "It's disappearing! Atlas-sama did it!"

I gave a deep sigh of relief. Indeed Jack seemed to have won his duel against his opponent (Carly).

That made five of them –five Dark Signers had been defeated.

Lua and Luca had gotten rid of Denmark. The Dark Signers who bore the marks of the Killer Whale (I couldn't quite remember who that was) and the Giant – Kiryu – they'd been beaten as well.

Rudger had also been defeated – Yusei truly was an incredible duelist to defeat not only his crazed best friend but the leader of the Dark Signers as well (and consecutively at that).

Five Dark Signers had been defeated.

But for some reason…I felt as if there was something unresolved about one of the duels – and it was Yusei's duel with Rudger at that. I had the feeling that something unusual had taken place.

Ever since we had set out to fight our individual battles, a heavy weight had come up on my frame. My body felt lethargic and at times it was difficult to breath. I did the best that I could to hide the strain and it had work. What I had noticed though was that as each battle was fought, as each Earthbound god was defeated – that intense, restricting pressure had abated ever so slightly.

I had expected to feel significantly better following Yusei's win against Rudger…but I hadn't and I didn't know why.

I felt unsettled.

"That just leaves you and I, Skylar," Aki voiced, "I only hope I make it before the sun sets."

I gave a noncommittal hum as my grip around the throttle tightened. If Aki indeed did not make it to the tower and defeat Misty in time, then all of our battles would have been for nothing. The doors of the underworld would bust open and then…the King of the Underworld would have free reign.

That couldn't happen. We had to hurry.

"Mikage," I began, wanting to know our exact ETA, "When are –"

A violent shock unexpectedly ran through my body and I found myself banking hard to my left. I grunted as I attempted to right myself, even as a large crash was heard. It sounded like something heavy and metal landing where I had been only moments ago.

I hadn't heard anything coming. I ended up banging against Mikage's car and both of our vehicles swerved dangerously.

"Skylar!" was Aki's frantic call.

My muscles strained as I used my body to steady my runner.

I gave a sigh and my face fell into a small grimace. I glanced at Mikage, who had managed to regain complete control of her car. Without even looking beside me, I spoke.

"You aren't one to willingly cause harm to others…Yoshi."

The tell-tale sound of a D-wheel engine roared to life.

"I wasn't." The answer was given quite matter-of-factly.

My head snapped to my left as my lips curled into a deep frown. Steely, magenta irises clashed with my green ones.

My eyes drank in the sight that was a darkly clad Yoshi, who sat mounted on a Runner that should have been familiar to me. Unlike my Runner, which was custom made from the ground up, Yoshi's D-wheel was a mass-production model: lambda frame, DWE-3000 engine, Mid-range Duel Runner CPU – it was standard.

It _had_ been green and white. Now it wore a much darker motif. It was black, with deep purple accentuates running all over its frame. Sleek, feather-like wings acted as side parts and I saw the small boosters that occupied the rear slot of the D-wheel.

Even though he could have afforded the priciest Runner on the market, Yoshi had opted for the most common of Runners – he had always been a person of simple tastes. The Runner that drove alongside me clashed with the personality of the Yoshi I knew.

"I'm not the Yoshi you knew."

My eyes widened slightly at Yoshi's spoken words. A dark smile – I had no doubt that it was an attempt to intimidate me – graced his lips. "You're easy to read."

I was quiet for a while as I slowly came to terms with what was happening. This was the prelude to our duel. It was where we exchanged words – affirmations, taunts, encouragements, threats – before we became locked in duel.

This was happening and happening now.

'… _Fine…'_

"You're wrong. I'm not easy to read," I commented lightly (and it was true, I was particularly good at concealing my emotions), "You were able to read me because you haven't changed at all. You're still the one that's able to know what I'm thinking and what I'm feeling without me having to say a word."

Yoshi's smirk dropped as he glared ( _glared_ ) at me ( _at_ _me_ ). I watched as his eyelids shuttered and his gaze flickered beyond me.

I tensed. I hope he wasn't thinking of stopping Aki from getting to Misty. Thankfully I rode between both his Runner and Mikage's vehicle, so the chance of me intercepting any attempts at the car were higher (never mind how I'd stop them).

Yoshi's eyes flickered to me again. "I have no wish to stop the Black Rose Witch from arriving to her destination. Misty-sama would be sorely disappointed if I did. My fight is with you."

My nostrils flared as I took a deep breath. He was right. And I should think it lucky – the fact that he'll let the others through without any effort on his part to detain them.

"Mikage, hurry and get Aki to the location," I ordered, quickly coming to a decision.

Any protests that Aki had were swallowed as Mikage spoke.

"Will you be okay?"

"I don't know," I answered honestly, "But I do know that I can't run away from him."

"I can stay," Aki began as she stared cautiously at my once-not-dark-signer friend, "And we can face him together."

I shook my head. "You have to find Misty and defeat her before the sun sets. I have to face him."

Not anyone else.

"Don't talk as if I'm not here," Yoshi's voice called to me, sounding slightly annoyed. I bit my bottom lip pensively – that was yet another pet peeve of Yoshi's.

With a final nod to both women in the car, Mikage pressed on the gas and her vehicle slowly drew away from us.

I watched until they were a good distance away, before finally returning my attention to Yoshi.

"It's just you and me now," I said faintly. As soon as I spoke those words, a high pitched buzzing sound arose. From his arm came an eerie purple glow.

 _ **Lub-dub, Lub-dub, Lub-dub**_

My arm burned as my mark – my crimson dragon marked – flared up in retaliation and a steady thrum of power rushed through my entire being.

"Just you and me."

Around me, amethyst flames roared to life.

* * *

The people hadn't returned.

He had won and yet the people hadn't returned.

Yusei's D-wheel whirred as it sped across the debris filled landscape.

Flashback

 _Yusei glared warily at the crouched figure that was Rudger._

" _What are you playing at Rudger? Why didn't you –"_

 _Rudger's hollow, humourless laugh cut him off._

" _I underestimated him. That anomaly managed to get the upper hand."_

" _Anomaly?" Yusei asked as he narrowed his gaze._

 _Rudger gave a vicious and secretive smirk. "I wonder how that duel will turn out…that duel amongst anomalies."_

" _What are you talking about?!" Yusei pressed urgently. He didn't get the answer he'd hoped for._

" _Don't think that this is over…"_

 _Rudger's wicked smirk held fast even as his body greyed as it began to turn to stone._

" _A new God, the mightiest of them all has already been unleashed!"_

End Flashback

At the end of it all, Yusei hadn't gotten any straight answers – not from Rudger…or from his father's spirit.

He had honestly thought that he was a goner when he had fallen from the bridge he had dueled Rudger on – although he was more blown from the bridge than anything else.

He also hadn't expected to be guided back to Crow and the others by his father – and Yusei wasn't sure about how he felt about what his father had said to him:

 _'I have burdened you with an outrageous destiny.'_

He now had more questions than answers. But he didn't have time to stand around and ponder. He had to prioritize.

He was still feeling disconcerted about his duel with Rudger. Something hadn't been right. Why else would the people Rudger had fed to his Earthbound god not return?

"Duel amongst anomalies," Yusei muttered under his breath.

Yusei fixed his gaze on the darkened sky. The outline of the dog hieroglyph that had gone missing gleamed in the darkened sky.

"Skylar," he muttered as he flexed his right arm. His mark glowed and he felt a muddle of _UncertainHesitationDoubt_.

He twisted his D-wheel's throttle just a bit more and its velocity increased.

"We're all behind you," he told his mark. He didn't know if he could so easily communicate through the Sign, but it was worth a try.

"You're not in this alone."

* * *

My back straightened as I felt a rush of _Calm_ suddenly sweep over me. I looked down at my mark, my brows crinkled. Just now…

'… _Yusei…'_

"You don't have time to be lost in thought," Yoshi intoned as his Runner pulled ahead of mine. Naturally he was right. I had to remain on my toes, especially since I had deactivated the duel autopilot (I'd need to be in control for as much as I could).

It had only been a few moments since the field had arose. From what I could tell, by glancing at the sky, the field was in the shape of a dog.

Yoshi loved dogs.

It didn't have that many twists and curves, and thankfully the paths were wide enough so that making the turns would be easy enough.

As it was now, we were travelling along a particularly long trail. "The first one to make the next turn, goes first."

I didn't respond, merely twisting the throttle and leaning my body as forward as I could. My efforts had proved fruitless however. Yoshi had won the turn.

"You were always the better rider," I admitted.

As I rode alongside Yoshi, I could have sworn I saw a frown mar his face before it became impassive yet again.

"As self-depreciating as always."

Both of us had our first five cards at hand. All that was needed was for Yoshi to make his first draw. He drew a card from his deck.

 _Duel Start_

"I'll begin by placing two cards face down."

Two cards appeared in his trap/spell zone.

"Next I'm going to place a monster face down on the field."

Huh, that wasn't a move that was often done. There were actually many duelists who didn't like placing monsters in the face down defence position, simply because they thought they'd be viewed as wimping out. But then there were duelists like Yoshi.

Strategy was everything to him.

"I'm ending my turn," he intoned. I took a deep breath as I drew my first card.

I glanced at my hand. I had mainly monster cards in my hand. I'd always had a problem with the balance of my deck. Sometimes I never got Spell or Trap cards when I needed them the most.

"I summon Silent Magician LV4* (1000/1000)." A diminutive CGI of a magician – white hair, adorned in blue and white robes and a matching sceptre – took to the field.

"Oh," Yoshi hummed, "If you're pulling that card out already...does it mean that you're being serious?"

I said nothing as my grip on my Runner's handle bar tightened. So he remembered that Silent Magician LV4 was the card that I needed to summon my ace. It was my go to card. Truthfully I felt at ease with it flying alongside me.

"Silent Magician," I began, "Attack his face down monster card."

More often than not, monsters that were usually played in face down defence position had a defence of less than a thousand. Hopefully this was one of those times.

The sceptre in my magician's hand began to glow as she released her magic attack.

Unfortunately, it would seem as if I wouldn't be having much luck in the duel after all.

The face down card flipped up and the image of a familiar dragon appeared. Masked Dragon (1400/1100).

Of course.

My body tingled as my magician's attack was rebuffed and unto me. I grunted when the beam hit me, though it had been significantly smaller than it had been when it came from my magician.

Skylar: 3900

Yoshi: 4000

It was only 100 points of damage and the pain from the attack was no more than a bee sting (like three successive stings).

"You're not usually so reckless."

I made no comment other than calling out my next play. "I set two cards face down and I'll end my turn."

I placed two trap cards – Negate Attack and Level Soul.

Yoshi drew his next card. "Each time my opponent draws a card, Silent Magician gains a spell counter and 500 attack points."

Silent Magician LV4: ( **1500** /1000)

"I'll place another monster card in face down defence position," Yoshi said, "And I'm changing my Masked Dragon into face up attack position."

I was well aware of Masked Dragon's special ability. No doubt Yoshi wanted me to attack it so that he could summon some other monster – one that would make him one step closer to summoning his Earthbound God.

I had to say that I wasn't looking forward to it. From what I could make of the Hieroglyph's image, the monster wouldn't be a particularly pleasant sight.

"I end my turn."

I couldn't let this duel last long enough for him to summon that card. But for now all I could do was try to figure out more of his strategy.

"Silent Magician, attack his Masked Dragon."

This time the attack went through. When Masked Dragon was destroyed, Hardened Armed Dragon (1500/800) took its place.

"You didn't even summon a monster," Yoshi's voice sounded through.

My eyes widened in surprise as I looked down at my hand. I made note of two particular cards that I could have summoned at the start of my turn – Mist Valley Soldier (1700/300) and Familiar-possessed Hiita (1850/1500).

' _Darn it!'_

I grimaced as I eased myself around a particularly tricky corner. This was no time for rookie mistakes.

"Do I unsettle you that much?"

"Yes," I answered bluntly, "The Yoshi I know…would never work for a bunch like the Dark Signers. He was weak-willed at times but his sense of justice would always shine through."

I ahead at Yoshi, his D-wheel was only a little ways in front of me. Our speed counters were the same either way – 4 – so we were roughly at the same speed.

"My 'sense of justice' huh." I couldn't quite make out the emotion that flicked across Yoshi's face – though his helmet wasn't darkly tinted, I'd need to be closer to see all of his expression. "Don't you have a turn to end?"

I summon Mist Valley Soldier (1700/300) to the field." Mist Valley Soldier was one of the few non-spellcaster monsters in my deck. It was a Winged-beast tuner type monster. I hadn't run across that many Spellcaster tuner monsters. I could easily tune the two level 4 monsters that I had on the field…but I knew that at this point there was safety in number.

"I place another card face down and end my turn."

I had set the trap Raigeki Break.

When Yoshi drew his card, Silent Magician gained another Spell counter and another 500 attack points.

Silent Magician LV4 ( **2000** /1000).

Yoshi was silent as he gazed at the card in his hand. "I think I've given you enough time to mount a defence."

My throat dried up as Yoshi turned to stare impassively at me.

"Do you know, which card I just drew?"

I bit my bottom lip as my entire body tensed in anticipation. I swallowed thickly.

"By the look on your face, I can see that you've connected the dots."

Yoshi raised the hand that held the card. "I don't have many new cards…but I do have this. You should prepare yourself."

 _ **Lub-dub**_

 _ **Lub-dub**_

"I sacrifice my two monsters to summon my Earthbound God."

A feeling of dread overcame me as time seemed to slow down. The two monsters on the field – Hardened Armed Dragon and another Masked Dragon – faded from view. Their outlines became pronounced as dark orbs of energy suddenly spawned from them and soon eclipsed them.

 _ **Lub-dub**_

 _ **Lub-dub**_

A wave of dark, misty energy suddenly shot up to the sky and before I knew it a large cocoon shaped thing appeared.

The mark on my arm seemed to pulse even more.

Slowly, the noise around me – of my Runner, of my heart, drowned out and all I heard were moanings and groanings, cries and echoes of sorrows and misery. A violent tremor went through my body.

People. They were people. This hadn't happened since that time in the Arcadia Building. My heart lurched and I did my best to remain focused on driving.

' _Deep breaths, deep breaths.'_

The cocoon throbbed. It actually looked like a heart of all things. Hearts – whenever I thought of hearts I thought of love and life…with this heart…this dark heart with black and magenta motif…all there was, was fear and death.

The dark heart was suddenly immersed in a bright purple light.

"Arise and bathe the world with your dark force! Come forth, Earthbound God Wañu Allqu!"

The monster was a demon, a gigantic demon dog. One that stood on all four feet and looked every bit of a slavering beast as one would expect.

Earthbound God Wañu Allqu*: (1000/2500).

"Now, Earthbound God Allqu, attack Mist Valley Soldier."

The first thought in my head wasn't to contemplate Yoshi's reason as to attacking my Mist Valley Soldier who had a higher attack power than his Earthbound God. My first thought was to get rid of his monster as soon as I could.

"I activate the trap card Raigeki Break," I spoke urgently. "By discarding one card, I get to destroy one card on the field."

I discarded Familiar-possessed Hiita from my hand and revealed aforementioned trap card, but before it even had a chance to take effect, I heard a familiar static sound from the card.

"What?" That sound only happened when a card's affect is annulled.

"It won't work because of my Hardened Dragon's effect," Yoshi droned. "Because I used it to summon a monster higher than level 7, it protects that monster from being destroyed from all card effects."

Then that meant that…!

The Earthbound god's jowls opened as it let loose a large and intense white beam that was headed straight for me.

"I activate another trap Negate Attack."

I gave a quick huff of release as the beam was blocked by the sudden formation of a shield around me.

"That also means that I can't make any more attacks for this turn. So I'll end for now."

I drew my next card. My gaze sharpened as I saw it. This could work.

"I place one monster face down on the field. And I'll end with that."

Yoshi made no comment as he began his turn.

Silent Magician LV4 ( **2500** /1000)

 _Yoshi Speed Counter: 6_

 _Skylar Speed Counter: 6_

"I'll summon one card in face down defence position." Yoshi had always been one for Flip effect monsters. "Now, Earthbound God Wañu Allqu attack Mist Valley Soldier."

Why was he doing that again?

"It's my monster's effect," Yoshi announced even as the dog monster powered up for its attack. "I can only use it once per turn but…it can attack a monster with a higher attack power and not get destroyed."

A dark chuckle arose from Yoshi's lips. "And my opponent loses the difference in life points."

No sooner had Yoshi said that than his Earthbound god had let loose its attack on my Mist Valley Soldier. However, the beam broke into two and I had to swerve out of the way to avoid a direct hit.

I ended up rubbing against the embers of the field walls. It burned as much as I thought it would. The ground around me shook and the dust that was stirred up briefly clouded my vision.

I grunted in pain and I marvelled a bit. That was only 700 points worth of attack damage.

Skylar: 3200

Yoshi: 3900

I righted myself as quickly as I could. "I activate my Soldier's effect. Because it was not destroyed by your monster, it returns that attacking monster to your hand."

"I activate my trap Dark Illusion," Yoshi announced revealing, "This negates your monster's effect and destroys it."

I gave a frustrated groan as I watched as my Mist Valley Soldier was blown apart.

"That's all for now."

"You're toying with me aren't you?" I spoke angrily, "You could have easily attacked my Silent Magician and dealt more damage, so why didn't you?"

I didn't like to be toyed with, especially not when I was dueling.

"Are you ready to take this duel seriously now?"

My brows furrowed.

"You've made a lot of mistakes since this duel began. The first was thinking that you could win going against me halfheartedly!" Yoshi's runner drove so close to mine that I was able to make out his expression clearly.

He looked furious.

"I can't because you're Yoshi!" I answered though I was confused out of my mind. "You're my friend, you're my brother! You can't expect me to treat you like an enemy!"

"But I _am_ your enemy," Yoshi's voice had this broken quality to it, and it made my heart feel as if it were being torn out from my chest. "I'm a Dark Signer. I'm an anomaly, but that's okay because that's how I got to face you."

"I don't understand." I really didn't. My heart beat sped up and at that very moment, Yoshi became my sole focus. "What do you mean Yoshi?"

Hard magenta eyes met my eyes and held them with a steely gaze.

"If you can beat me…then I know you can survive all this."

"What?!" I roared incredulously. "Is that why you're doing this right now? That's so twisted! How can that even make any sense?"

"You weren't apart of the original plan," Yoshi answered, seemingly unfazed by my outburst. "If I wasn't there then… _he_ would have tried dealing with you otherwise."

Yoshi's gaze turned to the colossal beast that was his Earthbound God.

"You're not making any sense."

"I'm one of the persons that mean the most to you in this world. If you can beat me…then whoever else you'll face shouldn't be a problem."

…It sounded as if…he was worried about me…for me.

"Are you worried for me?" I asked disbelievingly.

That was idiotic. That was insane. That…didn't make any sense at all – that he became a Dark Signer because he was worried for me…Nonsense. I suddenly wanted to yell at him. To scream at him. To demand the real reason for what he was doing because really…

But instead of yelling, I gave a weak, tired chuckle.

"Yoshi…you're still the same after all." It might have been a weird thing to say, but in retrospect, of course Yoshi was the kind of person that would sacrifice himself for me.

"No," he replied solemnly, "The Yoshi you knew…wasn't dead."

I grasped at my shirt, right above my heart. It was beating erratically, almost uncontrollably – as if it were about to burst from my chest.

"Do you know what my greatest regret was? My greatest regret…was not being able to warn you before I died."

A weighty silence settled between us.

"H-how did you die Yoshi?"

His gaze returned to meet mine. It seemed as if he was looking right through me.

.

.

.

"I was murdered."

* * *

Word Count: 4044

* * *

A/N: Hey y'all, it has been a while. First off, Happy Mothers' Day to all the true moms/mother figures. Thank you for the role you play in the lives of your children/wards.

This chapter was actually 10K words in length, but I decided to cut it in half. Yoshi's behaviour may seem odd - he's impassive at one moment, the next he's sarcastic/sadistic, there is a reason for that. And as for Skylar- I hope her reactions make sense. Feel free to message me any questions you may have.

The duel between Yoshi and Skylar took more time than I thought it would. I wanted to end the Dark Signer Arc by Chapter 28, but these two threw a wrench in that plan. So hopefully this will all be over by chapter 30 thereabout.

What do you think of the duel between Yoshi and Skylar thus far? What do you think of Yoshi's Earthbound God card - see the description below for more details. And on that note, I'll only provide descriptions for cards whose effects weren't stated at all...and the ones I'm particularly biased towards. The descriptions are from the Yu-gi-oh wiki, aside from the ones I make up of course (which won't be too many).

* * *

Card List:

Silent Magician LV4: Each time your opponent draws a card(s), place 1 Spell Counter on this card (max. 5). This card gains 500 ATK for each Spell Counter on it. During the Standby Phase of your next turn after the 5th Spell Counter is placed on this card: You can send this face-up card with 5 Spell Counters on it to the Graveyard; Special Summon 1 "Silent Magician LV8" from your hand or Deck.

Earthbound God Wañu Allqu: (Translation: Earthbound God 'Death Dog'; Attribute: Dark; Type: Beast/Effect; Level: 10)

Effect Description: There can only be 1 "Earthbound Immortal" monster on the field. If there is no face-up Field Spell Card on the field, destroy this card. Your opponent cannot target this card for attacks. This card can attack your opponent directly. Once per turn: When this card battles your opponent's monster, if that monster has an ATK power higher than the ATK power of this card, the difference between ATK powers is taken from your opponent's life points.

* * *

Thanks to everyone who reviewed/viewed/favourited/followed! Special thanks to the guest reviewer Momo.

Constructive criticism/comments/questions/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

U.P.: Sign Out


	27. Chapter 27

I do not own Yugioh!5D's

Chapter 27 – Anomalies II

– _You never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice_ – Bob Marley

* * *

They had until sunset to seal all of the doors to the Underworld. Thankfully only one remained. But that one door had been guarded by two Signers. One battle had already begun and Yusei knew that it was only a matter of time before Aki's duel would begin.

Yusei's D-wheel came to a full stop a few feet away from the wall of amethyst embers.

Now more so than he had earlier, he began to sense _AngerSorrowFury_ through his mark. Yusei's eyes narrowed at the dog-like Earthbound Immortal that moved and loomed over the track. Yusei's gaze shifted back towards the flames before he started his Runner once more.

He sped off.

He'd have to get to higher ground to find a way onto the course.

* * *

"It was an accident. I wasn't supposed to get caught," Yoshi admitted using my stunned silence to continue, "They already knew about you and the other Signers. Long before you all knew about each other."

My fists clenched as I took in a shaky breath. If that was true then, how? Had someone been feeding them information on us?

"They'd been planning for a long time. I guess that's to be expected from a war that has been five thousand years in the making."

"How do you know all this?" I demanded.

"I stumbled upon Misty-san meeting with _Rudger_ ," the way Yoshi spat the man's name – as if his tongue burned just to say his name. "They mentioned all of the Signer's by name and listed off who was going to face whom. At the time the only persons who didn't have an opponent were you and Jack Atlas."

My stomach dropped.

"Misty-san had said she already knew who Jack was going to face – that she'd met her already. Then all that was left was you. That man…he called you by name. He said that he didn't want to waste any time on you. Not when he had the 'core four' to deal with – that it'd be better if you never made it to Satellite. He said that you were an anomaly – 'A glitch in the divine game of the Underworld'."

I shivered at Yoshi's words before going numb. Rudger was right. I was a glitch. I didn't belong here. If not for chance, then...

"I wanted to see you as soon as I could so that I could warn you but…I got caught trying to sneak away."

My jaw locked as tears of anger began to well up in my eyes. Yoshi, of all persons, was not someone who deserved any of what was happening to him.

"I think he strangled me to death." Yoshi's voice had gone soft, and by the tightness of his expression I knew that it was because he was reliving the moment of his death. "I'd never felt so much hatred and regret."

"I knew that I didn't fool any of them for a minute. They all knew that I despised Rudger. _Rudger_ himself knew of my hatred for him." A vindictive smile stretch across Yoshi's face. It looked so out of place that it made me tremble in trepidation. "But he underestimated me. I may not have beat him with my own hands, but I'm content with knowing that his defeat at the hand of that Signer was made easier by my doing."

Rudger had faced Yusei hadn't he. Of course Yusei would have won that duel, but what was Yoshi saying exactly.

"What did you do Yoshi?" I asked cautiously.

All of the earlier emotions that were on Yoshi's face – anger, hurt, pain, fear, vindication – disappeared as his mask of impassivity returned.

"If you make any progress on your next turn, you'll find out."

He sped ahead of me.

I grit my teeth as I drew my card. I'd show him 'progress'. It was more likely than not that Yoshi's intention was to get me riled up – to get me angry and thus by more willing to duel him without hesitating.

I hesitated in most things I did. I always second-guessed the choices I made. But if I continued to do so, if I did not give it my all, if I didn't duel with all of my heart – the outcome of this match would be detrimental for Yoshi and I.

Yoshi's efforts, as warped as they were (perhaps the Dark Spirits _had_ twisted his mind more than he realized if he thought that _this_ was the best way to ensure my survival) would have been in vain.

As for me...if I lost – I would lose my soul.

And then what? What of Lua and Luca and Yusei and Aki and everyone else that was depending on me? So many persons needed me. My self-depreciating propensities had no place in this duel.

 _'Besides, there is still a chance for Yoshi's soul to be redeemed. That won't happen if I lose.'_

 _Yoshi's Speed Counters: 7_

 _Skylar's Speed Counters: 7_

I swayed my head from left to right. I rolled my shoulders in an attempt to alleviate the pressure in my back.

I finally found my resolve. I was ready to do this.

I looked straight ahead of me as I began to make my move.

"I flip summon Dharc the Dark Charmer (500/1500)," I revealed my face down card. A small male figure adorned in brown robes appeared on the field. The blood in my veins began to thrum. "Whenever this card is flip summoned it allows me to take control of one Dark monster on your side of the field."

I didn't feel right about what I was about to do. But I had to do what I needed to do in order to win.

"I'm choosing your Earthbound God!" I declared. I watched with bated breath as with its staff in hand, the elfin creature attempted to ensnare the Monster God. The beast struggled of course and I was grateful that the dog-creature was in the air and not on the ground. No doubt it would have caused quite a bit of earthquakes. As it was now, the wind around us began to whip violently. For a moment I thought that it wasn't going to work, either because my monster wasn't strong enough or because Yoshi would activate a trap or spell card, but thankfully the odds were in my favour.

Fittingly enough, a large collar of light formed around the Monster's neck and though it had not moved from its position in the sky, my D-wheel's duel monitor had shown that its cards image had shifted over to my field.

Now to continue with my turn.

"Fortunately, your Earthbound God won't be staying for long." I picked up one of the two cards that I had. "I release Earthbound God Wañu Allqu in order to summon a gem among Spell casters. I release your Earthbound God to summon Black Magician Girl*(2000/1700)!"

"Where'd you manage to get that card?" Yoshi asked and I could tell that he sounded shocked.

It had been a gift actually from Yuuto of all persons. He hadn't given me the fool story behind how he had come to have it, but I bet it'll be one hell of a story.

I smiled in a mixture of pride and relief as I watched the Earthbound God release a furious howl as it erupted in light. It was from that same light the monster that was Black Magician Girl emerged – blonde hair, blue mid-thigh off shoulder garment, pointy hat and all.

"It's not over yet." I directed a steely gaze towards Yoshi. "Black Magician Girl attack that face down."

I wasn't one to name duel monster attacks, but even I couldn't resist this one.

"Dark Magic Attack."

Her attack landed without fail and the face down card, Mystic Tomato* (1400/1100), was revealed and destroyed.

"Because it was destroyed by battle, Mystic Tomato, allows me to summon one Dark monster with 1500 or less attack points from my deck in face up attack position. I call another Mystic Tomato to the field."

"That one's going down too. Silent Magician destroy that Mystic Tomato."

And just like that, I'd finally dealt damage to Yoshi's life points. I was torn between feeling relieved that I'd actually caused his life points to do down and feeling anxious when I heard him cry out in pain.

Skylar: 3200

Yoshi: 2800

He seemed to recover quickly though. "Using Mystic Tomato's special ability, I summon the monster card Gernia (1300/1200)."

I nodded at the move. I could make no more attack for this turn. My Dharc the Dark Chamber wasn't strong enough to defeat the monster present on Yoshi's side.

"I'll place one card face down. That ends my turn."

"You did well," Yoshi complimented after a lengthy pause. "But this is far from over."

He didn't even so much as glance at the card he drew next, as if he had known all along what card was coming up.

Silent Magician LV4 ( **3000** /1000)

"At the cost of three speed counters, I activate the Speed-Spell Allure of Darkness," he intoned, "First I draw two cards."

 _Yoshi's Speed Counters: 6_

 _Skylar's Speed Counters: 9_

As Yoshi drew his cards, Silent Magician gained two additional counter, though only one had gone onto the card, seeing as five was the most Spell counters it could hold.

Silent Magician LV4 ( **3500** /1000)

"Then all I have to do is send a single Dark monster from my hand to the banished zone." Yoshi had slowed down, due to the loss of the three speed counters. I craned my neck around to see watch his expressions as he played.

To say that I was disconcerted by the near-vicious look he had on his face is an understatement. "You had asked me what I did, and I had told you that if you made progress I'd show you."

"I activate my trap, Escape From the Dark Dimension*."

I bit my bottom lip. I was unsure of what that card did. Was it like Call of the Haunted? If so then, that meant that he was about to summon his Earthbound God...again. "Didn't I just get rid of your Earthbound God?" I griped aloud. I had had enough trouble getting rid of it before. I really didn't like facing these monsters.

"You have nothing to worry about," Yoshi answered. "It isn't _my_ Earthbound God."

My stomach dropped and my panic levels went up exponentially.

I was almost afraid to ask.

"What do you mean?"

A saccharine smile crossed Yoshi's lips as I stared at him in wide-eyed terror. "I use Escape From the Dark Dimension to summon the monster I just discarded."

The same feeling I got whenever an Immortal was being summoned washed over me only...the sinister level felt as if it had been multiplied an hundred fold.

"Heed to your new master," Yoshi spoke as I watched in abject horror at the summons before me. "Come forth Earthbound God Uru (3000/3000)!"

* * *

A plethora of thoughts raced through my head as I marvelled at the Earthbound God – the gargantuan arachnid – above me.

I knew that something hadn't been right after Yusei had won against Rudger. The dark stain of the Spider mark hadn't seemed as if it had been fully erased from this world.

 _'Now I know why.'_

Yoshi must have some way somehow taken Rudger's Earthbound Card from him...But how? Could he even do that? Could Dark Signers control the Earthbound God of another Dark Signer?

' _Obviously_ ,' my mind supplied frantically as it scrambled for a solution to the new problem that had presented itself.

"Have you lost your resolve already?" Yoshi mocked, "You'll lose at this rate."

Why did I have to be placed in such complicated scenarios? I had to defeat not one but two Earthbound Gods?

I gave an incredulous chuckle as I stared at the colossal arthropod. It looked twice as big as I'd remembered seeing. It was as if I were in a nightmare really.

"Let's see if you can survive the rest of my turn."

"I activate Earthbound God Uru's special ability. I tribute Gernia to take control of one monster on your side of the field."

He didn't mean that –

"That's right, I'm taking control of your Silent Magician LV4."

I watched numbly as the giant arachnid monster spat out its web towards my monster, effectively ensnaring it and pulling over to Yoshi's side of the field. A purple spider mark appeared on my monster's hat for good measure. I mentally cursed.

I had been one turn away from summoning my key card, which is exactly why Yoshi had taken control of my monster in the first place.

Now Yoshi had two extremely powerful monsters on his side of the field. If I couldn't counter his next few moves...I was going to lose.

' _Can I do this_?' I briefly clenched my eyes shut. ' _It's just one thing after the other, isn't it?_ '

Yoshi looked back at me, his magenta eyes alight with dark energy.

"I guess you couldn't live up to my expectations after all." The condescending manner in which Yoshi spoke, the sneer of contempt on his face made for telling signs as to what was happening within him.

Since the very beginning of our duel, slowly yet surely the darkness had been twisting his mind. His sense of justice, his sense of reasoning, his very sense of self had all been deteriorating.

I was watching my best friend become mad, I was watching him become corrupt.

...I truly abhorred these Earthbound Immortals.

"I don't see a way for you to come back from this," Yoshi hummed, "Should you...give up?"

"There's no way she'll give up!" The loud declaration pierced the tense atmosphere. My head snapped in the direction that the voice came from.

"Yusei," I uttered in surprise as I watched his Runner drive up beside me.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he watched Yoshi (who in turn stared impassively at him) cautiously.

I was fighting for my life and my soul as well as the soul of my best friend – who was so obviously possessed. Of course I wasn't alright.

"Not really," I deadpanned.

Though honestly, I felt...relieved that he was here. I felt relieved that I wasn't alone...that I had someone actually there with me.

Yusei's eyes flitted towards Earthbound God Uru. "I knew that something was wrong when I had dueled Rudger. He hadn't summoned his Earthbound God."

Yusei's gaze switched to Yoshi once more, "So you're the...anomaly that he spoke about."

"Do not call me that." Yoshi hissed threateningly. "The only person who called me that no longer exists in this world and though I didn't defeat him with my own hands, I did have part in his defeat."

Yoshi sneered as he returned his gaze ahead of him.

I vaguely wondered about how many times we had gone around the course.

"I have no qualms about defeating either one of you." A dark force arose around Yoshi and I could see the menacing outline of that damned dog spirit.

I suppressed a growl.

"Skylar?" Yusei questioned without taking his eyes off of Yoshi's form.

I knew what he was asking: Could I continue? Was I sure? I nodded my head firmly. "I won't lose here. Not this duel...and not my friend."

Yusei nodded in approval to my resolve.

"There is still a way for you to win this," he advised. And I felt…lighter hearing the certainty in his tone. I was thankful for his faith in me.

Yusei's lips quirked into a semblance of a smile. "Good luck."

"It's still my turn," Yoshi snapped out. "Silent Magician, attack Black Magician Girl."

"I activate the trap Mirror Force which will destroy all attack position monsters on your side of the field."

Yoshi wasn't fazed, "I activate my counter trap Sacrificial Rite*. By sacrificing a single monster, I get to negate the effect of a card that causes the destruction of multiple monsters."

I bit my bottom lip, as light suddenly engulfed Silent Magician. "I offer Silent Magician as tribute."

I didn't mind that Silent Magician had been destroyed. I'd much rather it be in my graveyard, than on an opposing side.

"I'll still win," Yoshi scoffed, "Earthbound God Uru, attack directly."

Darn it, there was no way to stop his attack, but I couldn't necessarily just sit and take it. The Earthbound God lifted its head as it began to charge its attack.

"Skylar!" Yusei called out, "Follow me, and stay as close as you can."

That sounded far more appealing than floundering and getting hit, but easier said than done.

No sooner had I began to speed behind Yusei than a mass of web shot out of the arachnid's mouth at high velocity.

To say that the attack was earth-shattering would be...just about an apt description. Yusei and I managed to escape the brunt of the attack, but the move had been so powerful that it sent masses of rocks flying through the air.

It wasn't the easiest thing to do – riding and trying to escape pieces of earth that came from behind one.

The smaller ones merely left cuts on my cheeks as they flew by. It was the larger ones that proved the most dangerous. I gave a yelp of pain as a particularly large stone collided with my head. I heard my helmet crack and spots filled my vision as I lurched to the side.

I vaguely registered the sound of metal scraping against the ground before I was thrown from my D-wheel and unto the ground.

" **Skylar**!"

* * *

Yoshi pulled on his brakes, intent on watching the aftermath of the devastation he had unleashed behind him.

He watched the Signer who had defeated _Rudger_ , Yusei, stop and dismount his D-wheel to attend to Skylar's fallen frame.

He sneered and was about to make a snide remark when something at his feet, glinting, caught his attention.

Yoshi's brows furrowed as he observed the object. It was a silver jewellery chain, but at the end of it was a black, gleaming comma shaped piece.

"That…is that…?"

He absently reached for the chain around his neck and yanked at it. He held it up and observed that a similarly shaped piece hung from his chain as well – only it was white.

It was then that Yoshi's eyes widened as a certain memory came to the fore of his mind.

Flashback

 _Skylar glanced at him suspiciously._

 _"_ _I thought we agreed on no expensive gifts," she commented dryly as she turned over the phone in her hand._

 _Yoshi grinned sheepishly and offered a shrug thereafter._

 _The raven haired girl rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she intoned as she crouched down to pick up her gift to him._

 _"_ _Ta-da," she declared as she held up the portrait sized frame. "It's a painting of the two of us – it's that time when I spent Christmas with you and your family."_

 _Indeed, it was a picture of the two of them, those few years ago. The two of them were face to face from their position in front of the fireplace, nursing mugs of hot beverage. They were grinning widely._

 _He smiled as he took the frame from her hands. His fingertips brushed over the painting lightly as he admired her use of colours._

 _"_ _It's warm," he said softly. A lot of things about her were warm and it made him feel warm. His Duel Academy experience had certainly been a bright one thanks her. He'd been lucky to have met her._

 _A loud snort escaped his companion's nostrils._

 _"_ _That wasn't very lady-like," he rebuked._

 _A smirk was the only response he received before something else was placed in his field of view. It was a silver chain with a snowy comma shaped piece at the end._

 _"_ _You are," she began, "The Yang to my Yin."_

 _"_ _Two opposing forces?" he asked bemusedly as he glanced at the other piece that she held in her other hand. It was similar to the one she was presenting to him, only the comma shaped piece was ebony in colour._

 _He clutched the necklace nonetheless and promised himself that he'd always cherish it._

 _She shook her head._

 _"_ _We were never meant to be opposing forces," Skylar smiled, "We were meant to complement each other."_

 _"_ _I'll remember that Skylar," he returned._

 _"_ _You better Yoshi," she mused, "You'll get a beating otherwise."_

End Flashback

Yoshi's eyes blinked rapidly as a fog suddenly seemed to clear up.

 _'_ _What?'_ Yoshi clutched at the side of his head in an attempt to alleviate the pressure he felt there. He winced as he felt his conscious being pushed away by that dark force that had, for all intents and purposes, been latent since the day it offered him recompense.

He forced the dark presence back – as much as he could. Gasping from the effort, his eyes travelled downwards once more and his gaze locked onto the pendant at his feet. He bent down and snatched it within his hand. He recognized this pendant. Why was something so precious so far away from its owner?

 _'_ _Skylar,'_ his mind ( _his_ own mind) expressed.

"Skylar?" he called out breathily as memories of his duel swamped his mind all at once. His head snapped up to look at Skylar's collapsed body. His stomach clenched and his heart ached.

"What…did I just do?"

* * *

I groaned as I felt someone insistently pat the side of my face. My face scrunched up as I opened my eyes.

Concerned, azure irises met my gaze – as spotty as it was. I winced as my body thrummed with pain, especially my head. I had no doubt that I had yet another concussion – this wasn't healthy at all.

"Skylar, can you hear me?" Yusei's voice sounded a tad bit distant. I doubt it was his fault though. Yeah, I was admitting myself into a hospital after all of this was over. It took me a while to regain my bearings.

"Yeah," I grunted as I attempted to brace myself up. It was a lot easier to do since my upper body had been laying in Yusei's arms. I appreciated the support.

As I sat up, I brought my hand to the right side of my head. My helmet had been taken off at some point. I grimaced as I felt my fingertips brush against something warm and liquid. I brought my fingers back into my field of view only to see them coated in red.

"Are you going to continue with this duel?" Yusei asked, the expression on his face grave. I knew that Yusei was the type to let a person stand on their own two feet, fight their own battles, especially when it was what that person wanted. But I also knew that he wasn't the type to sit back and watch another person, a friend, duel to their own detriment.

The sound of an engine whirring interrupted my response. Both Yusei and I looked up to see Yoshi's Runner reversing towards us. It came to a stop a few feet away from us. I felt Yusei tense when Yoshi turned to look at us.

I admit that I was anxious too, before I got a good look at his eyes. For the first time since this entire Dark Signer fiasco began, his eyes looked clear – it was just the magenta of his irises, his scleras were white – Yoshi look like all (if not then most) of him was there.

A strained stillness settled among us and I searched Yoshi's face, trying to read his expression. My shoulders sagged a bit as I concluded on what I saw.

"You look like you're about to cry," I pointed out with a small, relieved smile, breaking the silence. "Have you finally come back to your senses?"

"I'm still not all here," Yoshi answered mournfully. I was both happy and saddened by the brooding look on his face. "But I'm cognisant enough to know that I never wanted you to get as hurt as you are."

I saw regret and shame reflected in his body image. I figured as much.

"I'm sorry," he uttered.

"I'm sorry too," I admitted. I was the reason he became an anomaly. I was one to.

 _'_ _He truly does complement me,'_ I thought bitterly. This world, it seemed as if it had taken steps to counteract my presence. I didn't know just how many steps – a large part of me didn't want to know.

For now though, I had to focus on the present. I slowly stood to my feet with a bit of Yusei's help. I muttered a quick 'thanks' to which he nodded briskly.

"We have a duel to finish Yoshi," I informed him.

"But I –"

I cut off Yoshi's response. "Is that all for your turn?"

"Yes, but –"

"That's good then," I announced confidently as I made my way to my fallen Runner. It was banged up, maybe even more than I was, but could still run. I mounted my Runner after I righted it.

"I plan to win on this turn," I continued as I revved my D-wheel's engine. It was about time that this duel came to an end.

 _Duel Restart_

Skylar: 200

Yoshi: 2800

As Yoshi and I restarted out Runners and continued along the track once more, I considered the cards on the field. I had two monsters Dharc the Dark Chamber and Dark Magician Girl. Neither of them were stronger than Yoshi's sole monster, his Earthbound God Uru. Not that it mattered since neither of them could attack it even if they had a higher attack power than the Earthbound Immortal.

I continued to access the field. I, of course, noticed one sure way of getting rid of that monster. I glanced at my deck.

 ** _Lub-dub, Lub-dub, Lub-dub_**

This was my final draw. Whatever card I drew next, I had to win with it. As confident as I had sounded with my declaration, the end result of this duel was all up to Fate really. Fate, which I fought and struggled against so often – I wondered if it would be on my side this time.

Would I lose my soul here and now? Or would I the Signers' Keeper survive this duel?

A bright, golden glow emitted from the card on top of my deck – the card I was about to draw next. I stared at it in wonder as I placed my fingers on it. I'd seen this happen before. This was either one of those 'Heart of the Cards' moments or I was hallucinating.

Nevertheless…It was kind of cool.

As I slowly drew the card, the glow faded and I finally got a good look at the card's depiction. A smirk slowly formed on my face as my mind concocted a strategy. I could work with this, though it was a bit of a gamble.

"I activate the Speed Spell High Speed Crash," I placed the card onto the duel disk. "With this card I get to destroy two cards – one of my own and any other card I choose."

I inhaled deeply.

"I choose to destroy Dharc the Dark Chamber." The Spell caster card shattered. "The next card that I choose to destroy, is Escape From the Dark Dimension!"

Once that card was gone, so would his Earthbound God.

A shudder went down my spine as I immediately sensed that familiar dark presence. I watched as a sinister, violent mist-like entity arose and completely covered Yoshi and his D-wheel.

"I'm sorry, b-but I can't hold b-back Skylar," Yoshi stated. The vile being had the capacity to screech at me, its cry grated my nerves.

I growled in turn. Soon enough. I was going to evict that Spirit soon enough.

I activate the Quick-Play Speed Spell – Earthbound Safeguard*," Yoshi countered, his voice had an echo quality to.

Yoshi's D-wheel, that had been ahead of mine, slowed until Yoshi ended driving behind me. The Speed Spell had cost him 6 Speed Counters.

"This card temporarily banishes my Earthbound God for the remainder of your turn and at the same time prevents any monster on the field from attacking this turn."

Earthbound God Uru disappeared from the field and it was only then that my spell card took effect. Both my Dharc the Dark Chamber and the Escape From the Dark Dimension trap card shattered as they were removed from the field.

It was then that chains appeared and surrounded Black Magician Girl, effectively restraining her.

I glanced behind me, only to see Yoshi pin me with a fierce and ugly glare as his lips twisted into a sadistic sort of sneer.

"What will you do now glitch?"

My face was solemn before my lips quirked up into a victorious smirk. "Now…I'm going to get rid of you. I'm going to finally get rid of you, so that my friend's mind and soul can be at ease."

I wasn't one for monologues (well I wasn't one for _verbal_ monologues) , but I honestly felt like the situation called for it.

"It's a good thing I got you to play whatever counter card you had up your sleeve," I admitted idly. I should be able to make my next few moves without a hitch.

"I activate my trap card Level Soul," I declared as I revealed the face down from my first turn. "By tributing one monster on my side of the field and removing from play and LV monster in my graveyard, I can special summon the monster written in the text of the removed LV monster."

The space beneath Black Magician Girl glowed as the traps effect began to take place.

"I tribute Black Magician Girl and Silent Magician LV4 to special summon Silent Magician LV8* to the field."

I relished the sight of my key card finally, finally being summoned to the field. I had been waiting on the perfect time to activate my trap to do so. The eleventh hour seemed like as good a time as any.

Silent Magician LV8 (3500/1000) looked similar to her lower level counterpart. She had the same white hair, the same blue and white sceptre and robes – only she was taller and look much more dangerous than her LV4 counterpart.

"Silent Magician LV8 isn't affected by my opponent's spell cards, so that means that the effects of your Speed Spell are null and void."

I wasn't going to let this duel go on for a moment longer.

"Silent Magician LV8, direct attack!" I ordered. "White Mystic Blast!"

The field was consumed in an intense light.

* * *

"Luca, look!" Lua exclaimed. He pointed to the sky as he saw the Amethyst outline slowly disappear. "That's where Nii-san is!"

Luca nodded. "Nii-san won," she declared happily.

Lua slumped back into the car seat and he gave a deep sigh of relief. "Yusei told you not to worry," Luca teased. "What would Nii-san say if she knew that you didn't believe that she'd win?"

"Pffft," Lua dismissed with a wave of his hand. He rubbed his nose as he flippantly commented. "I always knew she'd win. There was never a doubt in my mind."

Luca laughed lightly.

"Hey you two!" Ushio called from his position in the driver's seat. "We're 5 minutes away from the next site. Are you ready?"

Luca's smile dropped as she glanced ahead of her, her focus towards the sky. The sun had begun to set.

"Do you think Aki-nee-san will win in time?" Lua questioned as he glanced at her arm. Though Skylar had won, its glow had yet to fade. Aki's duel had begun a few moments ago – the lizard hieroglyph was like an ominous beacon in the sky.

"I know she can."

She had to.

* * *

I felt all kinds of relief when, after the bright light had dissipated, the field was clear. Finally, the Earthbound God Uru had been laid to rest. And at last, all the souls that it (and probably Earthbound God Wañu Allqu) that it had consumed were set free.

The duel field, the duel monsters, the walls of flames all faded away.

However, as soon as I stopped my Runner, I leapt off. Even though my body protested – it was sore, had gashes, had burn marks. But I didn't have much time to think about the pain, because at some point during my Magician's attack, Yoshi had gone down.

A few feet behind of me, he and his D-wheel laid askew on the mangled ground. I ran to his prone body, falling to my knees as soon as I was near him.

"Yoshi," I cried insistently as I braced him up in my arms. His Dark Signer garb was tattered, his face was dirty and bruised. His breath came out ragged, as if it pained him to breathe.

His eyes opened slowly. And thank Kami, his eyes were clear. The Immortal's influence had left his body.

"You're gonna come back, okay Yoshi?" I said, my voice wavered. If things went as they did in Canon. If…no, _when_ Yusei and the others won, everyone would come back. "Just wait a bit alright?"

He gave me a weak smile and even though his eyes were dim (he was fading), I saw that he believed me.

He brought his right hand up towards my left one – his body began to harden and grey – and he placed something within its grasp.

"Okay," he answered in that soft voice of his, his eyes slowly closing. Even though I knew what was happening I couldn't quite comprehend what I felt when his body began to crumple, when his body became ash and when those ashes were taken from my hold by the wind.

I stared at my palm – more so at what Yoshi had placed in my palm. It was our necklaces – and the Yin and Yang symbols were joined, locked, unified.

I let out this raspy wheeze-like sound.

I knew what it was like to face death, but this was different. I didn't like the feeling I got with watching someone I cared about fade away – with watching someone I cared about die.

What happened to Yoshi…the feeling I got with Yoshi vanishing…with Yoshi dying…it was painful. It hurt in a way that I fail to describe.

The tears that fell were unbidden, but I could not stop them from flowing.

"Skylar."

I looked up and away from my gloved hands only to see another gloved hand in front of my face – extended and open. My gaze travelled up along the arm and I met deep cerulean eyes. They stared back at me with a type and depth of understanding that someway, somehow made me feel reassured…comforted.

'I know' – is what his eyes said.

And he did know didn't he? He'd been where I currently was. He knew what I was feeling. He was probably still feeling what I was feeling.

And he was still moving forward.

I rubbed my arm against my face, wiping my tears with what remained of my sleeve (great another set of gear destroyed).

Then I reached out and clasped his hand. His grip tightened (warmth flooded my body) and he wordlessly helped me up from the ground. Even after I was steady on my feet, he still held onto my hand…or was it me who didn't let go?

"Thank you," I simply, eventually, stated and our hands were retracted.

 _'_ _Thank you for being here._ _Thank you for understanding._ _Thank you for being someone I know I won't lose.'_

I wanted to say something along those lines, but I was too overwhelmed to voice those thoughts.

Yusei's smile was small but encouraging.

I glanced back at the necklaces in my hand, I clutched it tightly. I'd do everything within my power to make sure that Yoshi was brought back. Not only that though. I wanted to make sure that everyone and I meant _everyone_ made it out of this alive.

Breaking the necklaces apart, I secured both around my neck.

"Let's go Yusei," I called as I spun on my heels and walked to my D-wheel. The fight wasn't over, not yet –

The sun was almost set

– but it would be soon.

* * *

Word Count: 6028

* * *

A/N: And thus ends the battle amongst the anomalies. What'd you think? The duel between the two of them was quite the task to write but I enjoyed it.

I know that this chapter is choppy, but I've had it for so long I really just wanted to post it and get it over with. I may have also...tweaked a card or two. The Dark Signer Arc should be wrapping up in like 1 or 2 more chapters (finally!).

Edit: I switched out Call of the Haunted for Escape From the Dark Dimension. Thanks to 'kuriboh1233' for the advice/help.

* * *

Card List:

Black Magician Girl/Dark Magician Girl: This card gains 300 ATK for every "Dark Magician" or "Magician of Black Chaos" in either player's Graveyard.

Mystic Tomato: When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard: You can Special Summon 1 DARK monster with 1500 or less ATK from your Deck, in face-up Attack Position.

Sacrificial Rite: By sacrificing a single monster, negate the effect of a card that causes the destruction of multiple monsters on the field.

Escape From the Dark Dimension: Target 1 of your banished DARK monsters; Special Summon that target. When this card leaves the field, destroy and banish the target. When that target is destroyed, destroy this card.

Earthbound Safeguard: If you control an "Earthbound Immortal" monster: When a card's effect would destroy a card on the field, remove 6 Speed Counters in order to temporarily banish the Earthbound Immortal for the remainder of the turn and negate that card's activation. Monsters on the field are prevented from attacking this turn.

Silent Magician LV8: Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must be Special Summoned by "Silent Magician LV4" and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. This card is unaffected by your opponent's Spell effects.

* * *

Thanks to everyone who reviewed/viewed/favourited/followed! Special thanks to all my reviewers. I really appreciate you guys.

Constructive criticism/comments/questions/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

U.P.: Sign Out


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28 – Storms

– _You have to accept the storms and the rainy days and the things in life that you sometimes don't want to face_ – Bai Ling

* * *

I think I'd need some time in the hospital after this one. And my Runner would be spending some time in the shop.

"I sent Ushio, Luca and Lua ahead of me," Yusei announced as he rode alongside me. "And Crow went to get Jack."

"Crow," I hummed the name. I'd have preferred to meet him in a non-life threatening situation.

"Yeah," Yusei affirmed, "I sent him to check up on Jack. Hopefully they won't take too long to get to the final reactor."

"Amusement parks are supposed to be fun," I mumbled as the final location came into sight. I wondered just how far along Aki's duel with Misty was. I glanced at the lizard hieroglyph and then at my arm. I sensed that Aki hadn't lost herself to her psychic powers. That was good news. But her emotions were all about the place. There was grief and anger and fear and…doubt – nothing good could come of that.

Both Yusei and I pulled up to two Public Security vehicles – one belonged to Mikage while the other belonged to Ushio. I sighed in relief – the twins had arrived safely. I couldn't wait to see them.

I got off of my D-wheel as quickly as I could and removed my helmet. Yusei did the same. We shared a glance before we both made a beeline towards the duelling area.

"We don't have long," Yusei declared tensely, "The sun's setting."

"Not helping," I panted as my pace increased. I really shouldn't have been going so fast. I couldn't wait 'til we were clear of the danger so that I could pass out…for a few days.

My eyes gave a cursory glance to the surroundings. It was weird having a place so usually filled with life so devoid of people.

* * *

The Arcadia Movement had caused the death of Misty's younger brother, Toby.

Divine had caused the death of Misty's younger brother. Which meant that Toby's death…was her fault as well.

At the time, she hadn't cared when the bright eyes boy had come to her. So many others had come to revere her – she was…she had been Arcadia's best. She had told him the same thing she had told all the others.

"Just listen to Divine." She had told him. "Just do as Divine says."

He had wanted to be like her. She had been who she was because of Divine, so it had been the logical course of action – sending him to Divine.

But…it seemed as if…no, not 'seem' – she _had_ sent him to his death.

(Was that the case for any of those others – those boys and those girls – that she sent to the Arcadia Movement's leader?)

Just how many lives had she destroyed?

 _"_ _Too many,"_ she answered within herself. Her power ebbed beneath her skin as she slowly began to lose the tight reign she held on it. Aki clutched her head as her breathing became more frantic, panicked.

Truthfully she hadn't thought of that before – the number of persons' lives she'd ruined. She hadn't wanted to. After all, who would want to think of themselves as a murderer?

Who would want to think of themselves…as a monster?

* * *

Despair.

That was the feeling that I felt from Aki. Despair was never a good thing. Despair meant that there was no hope. And if Aki had no hope, then she'd already lost the duel…and her soul.

"Skylar! Up ahead!"

I looked to where Yusei heeded and both he and I came to an abrupt halt. We watched as a wall of purple embers danced and raged before us. I'd almost forgotten that we were outside of the Dark Signer's seal.

How were we expected to get over? I bit my bottom lip in contemplation.

 _"_ _Maybe we could go back for our Runners and jump it?"_ My nose crinkled and I furrowed my brows. _"Why did we leave our Runners? We could have easily ridden them inside."_

My mind would have strayed further – I got distracted by simple nuances too often truly – if Yusei hadn't suddenly grabbed onto my arm. My eyes widened when he suddenly began moving forward, pulling me along with him.

I instinctively dug my heels in the ground beneath and tugged back. "What are you doing?" I asked trying to quell the panic in my voice. "We can't just walk through fire," I informed him. Thus far neither of us (none of the Signers in fact) had had any good or less than painful experiences with the eerie purple flames.

Yusei gazed at me resolutely, before he held up his arm. The Crimson Dragon's mark shone in all its glory. "I have a feeling that the Crimson Dragon will protect us. We can make it through."

I blinked owlishly. "A feeling," I repeated. To say that I sounded incredulous would be about as accurate a description as any.

But Yusei didn't rebut. He didn't roll his eyes or look affronted. Instead he held out his hand towards me. "Do you trust me?" he asked seriously, "I need you to trust me."

I groaned. Of course I'd end up in one of these 'Trust' moments.

"We don't have much time Skylar," Yusei pressed, "Aki needs us."

Naturally Yusei was able to feel the same thing that I was feeling. Aki's fighting spirit was nigh empty. She was becoming more and more lost. She was closing in on herself fast.

I sighed as I gripped Yusei's hand (I vaguely noted that this was at least the second time I found myself literally hand in hand with Yusei). He nodded before he turned and began moving forward once again.

My grip on Yusei's hand tightened the closer we got to the flames. Was the Crimson Dragon's power strong enough to allow us passage through the soul sucking embers?

It was to my extreme relief when as soon as that question flitted across my mind, a bright red dome suddenly encompassed Yusei and I.

I let out a sigh of relief when we safely passed through the line of intense blaze. When the dome faded, after we had moved a small distance away from our entry point, I glanced back curiously.

I had literally just walked through fire…Huh…This was certainly one for the books.

Yusei gave my arm a final tug, bringing me back to the matter at hand, before he let go of my hand and started advancing. I followed close behind him and we soon saw the beginnings of what looked like an activated field spell.

As we approached the dome, the Aki's form slowly became more and more visible. Only, she was crouched to the floor and looked every bit of panicked as my Signer mark conveyed. The fiery Aki seemed to be going through a major mental breakdown.

As Yusei and I finally came to a stop, just outside of the crystallized dome (I didn't think that it was wise for us to get too close to the dueling field), I observed Aki's body quaking violently.

 _"_ _Crap."_

There was no way she could win in such a condition.

"Aki!" I yelled. I watched as her head snapped towards me, towards us, her blood red hair whipped around her.

"Skylar, Yusei," she called out, her voiced sounded broken, desperate.

"You need to get up and duel Aki!" Yusei spoke to her.

"I-I can't," she sobbed. "I can't fight Misty!"

Aki looked away from us and grabbed her head.

"You can't give up Aki!" Yusei insisted.

"You don't understand!" Aki yelled at her, "She has good reason to b-blame me. I'm the reason her brother is dead! I killed him!"

"That's right!" Misty seethed, sneering at Aki. "You took my brother from me. I won't let you live." I could tell that Misty was gearing up for her next move. But Aki couldn't defend herself as she was.

I studied Aki's side of the field. She only had two monsters on her side – both were in defence mode, not that they seemed as if they'd be up to par with Misty's dragon in their attack mode.

"This is the end," Misty declared, "I activate the Permanent Magic, Advance Force, from my hand!"

My stomach dropped as a foreboding sense increased.

"This card's effect will allow Bad End Queen Dragon to serve as a monster that will count for two releases!"

"Aki, get up!" Yusei too knew what was coming.

"O God which resuscitated my life! Now, I offer my soul!" Misty's reptilian monster became enveloped in a violet light, before it rose above the field. "Descend forth, Earthbound God Ccarayhua!"

My heart began beating a mile a minute as the numerous warning bells in my head went off as they usually did whenever such dark creatures were summoned. The ball of light faded and an all too familiar heart shaped structure became visible. Soon, the shape burst and both Yusei and I had to shield our eyes.

When the light disappeared the ground beneath us began to shake violently and amidst the increasingly intense amethyst inferno, the green accentuated Earthbound Immortal – Misty's Immortal – emerged from beneath the ground.

A loud, guttural roar pierced the atmosphere as the lizard-like God appeared. It was sinister in every sense of the word. For Aki, she had fallen back onto her butt and she stared at the monster before her.

This was dangerous, even more so – Aki didn't seem as if she were ready to fight back as yet.

"All I need to do is attack you directly!" Misty voiced with wicked delight.

 _"_ _This can't happen like this!"_

It truly looked as if Aki was going to lose. I racked my brain as it grasped at every bit of helpful memory it could pick up quick enough. I had to stop Misty's onslaught. I had to distract her.

It was when Misty looked as if she were about to command her Earthbound God to attack, that something in my mind clicked.

"Misty wait!" I blurted out. A part of me hissed at me to stop, before I put myself in even more danger but I continued nonetheless.

"Aki is innocent!" I declared. At that statement, the very air around us seemed to chill by at least 50°C. I felt all eyes on me – Misty's especially were boring into me with a hateful kind of intensity.

I clenched my teeth. Here goes nothing.

"Divine is the one who's responsible for your brother's death!" I hollered. "He killed your brother and pinned it on Aki!"

It was unexpectedly quiet when I was finished. But then the ground shook.

"How dare you lie and try to save this witch?!" Misty growled.

"Skylar," Yusei warned from beside me. I understood what he was warning against. It wasn't that he didn't believe me – once again I didn't know why is was that Yusei seemed to believed what I said so much (and it was interesting what he could convey with just simply saying my name) – he recognized how volatile the situation was. He was advising me to tread lightly.

I only wished I knew how to do that.

"I'm not lying!" I replied vehemently, "I'm not an ordinary Signer – I'm a Disciple of the Crimson Star." I held up my right arm for good measuring, showing the different pattern that glowed there. "I've always been able to see possible futures so I know a lot of things that the others don't, and what happened to your brother is one of those things."

I was making it up as I went along. I felt as if I were making myself out to be a hyped-up Oracle. But thank Kami that Misty seemed to be paying attention.

I continued my spiel.

"In one of those futures I saw Divine confess to killing your brother!"

I fished in the recesses of my mind to find something that would convince her. My eyes widened as they recalled something more.

"His name was Toby right? He died about a year ago when Divine was experimenting on him. He couldn't take the experimentation. He was too weak."

"D-Divine?!" Misty asked, shocked. "I-it was him? How, how is that possible?!" Misty all but screamed at me.

I opened my mouth to reply, when Yusei gripped at my shoulder. "That's enough Skylar," he muttered.

I shook my head and tried to be as discreet as I could. Though Misty looked lost (she was most likely trying to come to terms with what I had revealed – she was deciding if she would truly believe me) she could return her attention to me at any moment.

"See if you can get closer to Aki," I spoke without turning my head. "She needs to snap out of whatever trance she's in. She can still win."

Yusei's hold lingered for a while before my shoulder was finally released. I sensed more than saw him move away from me. I sighed. If anyone could get Aki to open her eyes – it'd be Yusei.

I swallowed thickly. I had to buy him more time. "Your brother's death was covered up. Divine killed him and then willingly allowed Aki to take the blame. She was as much of a puppet as your brother was!"

A deathly stillness settled before Misty exploded.

"My brother was no puppet!"

What happened next happened so fast that I barely had time to get out my next breath. The Earthbound God's tongue rapidly stretched from out of its mouth to wrap around me. It was as if I were a rag-doll. I didn't even have time to tense because after a matter of seconds, I was being held in the air by the tongue of a monster.

" **Skylar!** " I knew that those voices weren't just Yusei's and Aki. The twins were no doubt watching from somewhere safe. Too bad that they may just witness their Babysitter get eaten.

"What do you think you're doing Misty!?" came Yusei's outraged exclamation. "All she did was tell the truth!"

"Take it back!" Misty demanded, completely ignoring Yusei.

I was now directly above her. The Immortal's tongue had stretched across an impressive distance…at least it would have been more impressive if I wasn't fearing for my life at this point.

"You don't have to worry about revenge," I said through clenched teeth as I struggled against my bond. My struggles proved futile as the appendage tightened around me. But I needed to do what I could to stall for time. The longer I remained uneaten the better.

"That day in the Arcadia building. I saw him die," I blurted out.

More like I left him to die. Seeing as he hadn't been here to interfere in Aki's duel, he probably _had_ died. Any guilt I felt was second place at the moment though. I could end up with broken bones at the blink of an eye.

"How am I expected to avenge my brother?!" Misty bellowed. I didn't have an answer for her. I really didn't know what else I could say.

* * *

Yusei hadn't wanted to leave Skylar. He hadn't wanted to leave her to stand and talk to Misty. Yusei learnt that Skylar had the tendency of ending up in trouble, even though she went out of her way to avoid such.

But she had been right. This duel needed to end and end now, and Aki was the only one who could do that. If only she snapped out of whatever dark and detrimental depression she had fallen into.

He hadn't known of the story between the two of them – Aki and Misty. Yusei hadn't understood the unadulterated loathing that Misty held for Aki. But after hearing Skylar admit what she had – it had put things into perspective.

It had been Divine who had caused the death of Misty's brother. The man saw people with psychic abilities as mere tools. Aki and Toby (and so many other nameless persons) had only been puppets in an insane man's bid to accomplish his selfish plans.

It grated on his nerves – the idea of people being used and thrown away so easily. Much more value was ascribed to human life than that.

Ultimately, Aki had been walking around with a guilt that was not her own. She was a victim. As was Toby, as was Misty.

Yusei ran to Aki, stopping then crouching in front of her. Her brown irises were wide and full-blown as if she was stuck within some kind of daze. He reached for her shoulders and gave them a firm squeeze.

"Aki! Snap out of it!" he spoke to her, his voice conveying the urgency of the moment. "I'm not sure how long Skylar can keep Misty busy. We need you to wake up."

"Yusei…" she mumbled.

"None of what Misty said was true," he felt the need to reaffirm those words. "It's not your fault her brother died. You're innocent."

Aki's eyes slowly regained their light as the red-headed duelist became more and more aware of her surroundings. She groaned as she clenched her eyes shut for a brief moment.

"Yusei," she spoke as a hand went to grasp at the side of her head.

Skylar's voice echoed across the field once more. "Your brother's death was covered up. Divine killed him and then willingly allowed Aki to take the blame. She was as much of a puppet as your brother was!"

Aki's body gave a startled shudder and she probably would have fallen backwards if Yusei didn't have a firm hold on her shoulders.

"I-is that r-really true?" Aki stuttered out. Yusei gave no verbal replay, just a solemn nod of his head before he shifted his focus towards the two other females that were present. Misty had gone unnervingly quiet. Yusei tensed.

And for good reason, for it was then that Misty exploded.

"My brother was no puppet!"

It was at that outraged declaration, that Misty's Earthbound God launched its tongue at Skylar, wrapping it around her and picking her up.

" **Skylar!** "

Yusei released his hold on Aki's shoulder as he stood abruptly. "What do you think you're doing Misty!?" he exclaimed. "All she did was tell the truth!"

In all honesty, he understood why she was so angry, but that didn't give her permission to hurt his friends.

His fists clenched at his sides when Misty gave no indication of hearing him. He watched as Skylar dangled above the monster Lizard's jowl. He hadn't thought the situation could have gotten even more dangerous.

Yusei's mind raced as he tried to think of a way to get Misty to release Skylar and safely.

"How am I expected to avenge my brother?!" Misty screamed. The Dark Signers had all been born out their own needs for vengeance. What Misty could be feeling now that she found out that her vengeance had been misplaced.

Now she knew that Aki had nothing to do with Toby's death. But the man responsible for it seemed to have already been taken out of this world. Yusei watched as Skylar struggled against the giant lizard's tongue.

"Misty, let Skylar go!" Yusei's gaze snapped towards Aki, who had been the one to speak out, before he returned his gaze to the dangling Skylar. It seemed as Aki was finally beginning to get her head in the game. "She's got nothing to do with this."

"Fine you want her?" Misty sneered. But it was plain to both Yusei and Aki that it was no longer Misty who stood before them. Yusei had seen it before, he'd felt it before – that sinister feel that came with a Wicked God taking over its host completely.

"Take her," Misty hissed and with that Skylar was thrown in their general direction.

"Dark Verdure go!" Aki ordered her plant-like monster to advance. It's two large leaves stretched forth and caught Skylar before she could collide with anyone.

Yusei glanced at Aki briefly before his eyes flitted to the descending monster. Aki…had become so different from the girl he had first duelled against in the Fortune Cup. That Aki had been a doll – a puppet. But this Aki – he watched the fire that danced in her eyes – this Aki was radiant.

"Yusei, you need to get Skylar away from here."

"Right," he acquiesced with a firm nod. There was no questioning the resolve in her voice. Approaching Skylar, Yusei helped her up from the monster's grip.

"Are you alright?" he asked as his eyes swept over her form.

She gave a nod as she clutched her back. "I am so over this whole hostage-kidnap thing," she groaned.

Yusei's lips quirked upwards despite their situation.

Only Skylar.

* * *

I stumbled over my feet as I followed Yusei. No doubt he was seeking cover from the remainder of duel. Being fresh out of a duel with a Dark Signer, I really didn't want to stay anywhere near either of the dueling females and get involved even more than I already had.

"Yusei! Nii-san!" Lua's voice hollered. I turned my gaze upwards to see Lua, Luca (Thank Kami they looked largely okay from what I could see) Ushio and Mikage waving at us from the behind the railing of a stone platform just outside of the glass dome that covered the duel field.

I gave a huge sigh of relief as Yusei and I made our way to the staircase that led up to the platform. I had barely made it to the top, when two blue-green headed bungles quickly attached themselves to my midriff.

I smiled happily as my arms closed around them in turn. It felt like forever since I had last saw them. These last few hours had felt more like days than anything else.

"You guys are actually a safe enough distance away," I quipped by way of greeting.

Lua raised his head to stare at me unimpressed. "Really Nii-san?"

I gave a hapless shrug as Luca giggled.

"This is all heartfelt and all but in case you haven't noticed," Ushio interrupted as he gestured towards the duel field, "Destructive duel underway."

The twins and I parted but I didn't turn my attention to the duel. Instead, I turned my gaze towards the sky.

The sun had almost disappeared beyond the horizon.

* * *

 ** _Feed._**

 ** _It needed to feed._**

 ** _And he had waited long enough._**

 ** _His coming would no longer be forestalled._**

 ** _The Crimson Dragon and all who stood against him would burn._**

* * *

I watched tense as the violent winds whipped up by the effect of Aki's Black Rose Dragon. All cards on the field would be destroyed but thanks to the effect of Aki's spell Shining Rebirth, if things went well then Black Rose Dragon would be the only card on the field. It was a useful effect if one knew how to use it, and as the Dragon card was Aki's key monster – of course she had many winning combos with it at the helm already planned out.

"Black Rose Gale," Aki declared her attack, "Destroy Earthbound God Ccarayhya!"

Of course the dark spirit that had overshadowed Misty wouldn't go down without a fight.

"I activate the trap card, Death Gazer!"

"Not good. If Aki-san gets hit with that card, she'll lose 300 points for every card destroyed," Ushio informed the rest of us. I wasn't really surprised. He was Public Security and he'd have more knowledge of cards and their effects than most persons.

 _"_ _Maybe he could have been a play-by-play announcer for duel matches?"_

I dispelled the idle thought just in time to see Aki counter with a trap of her own.

"Trap card, open! Reflect Nature!"

"Alright!" Lua cheered. And for good reason. What that trap card did was send all the damage that she would have received back to Misty.

I sighed in relief as I watched Misty get hit with 2100 points of damage. That meant that her life points would be at zero and the duel – the final Dark Signer duel would finally be over.

As Lua, Luca, Yusei, Ushio and Mikage made their way down to Aki – the lizard-like Earthbound Immortal had dissolved, disappeared with a wanton screech…the duel field and Misty had disappeared as well – I followed behind them at a more sedate pace.

 _"_ _Aki won. But…"_

I raised my head. The dense and sombre clouds was enough of an indication of what was to come, even if no one aside from me had realized it yet. The sun had set, but the Tower had yet to be closed.

Aki had won. But it was too little too late.

The ground beneath us shook violently.

A golden beam of light suddenly originated from where Neo Domino City was and another geoglyph – that of a condor – became as a beacon in the shadowy sky.

"What going on here?!" Mikage exclaimed as she looked amongst us frantically. Of course she hadn't expected for anything to happen in the City.

"That is the Condor geoglyph," I announced through grit teeth. "And we are in a world of trouble."

"Is this because we didn't make it before the sun went down?" Luca turned to me.

I opened my mouth to reply, but the sound of someone hollering Yusei's name interrupted me, as did the sound of D-wheel engines. We all shifted our gaze to the source of the noise and I saw the Runners of both Jack Atlas and one Crow Hogan. Both D-wheelers came to an abrupt stop a few feet ahead of our group. And so the gang was all here.

"What is that?" Jack demanded.

Crow's eyes flitted over our group before they rested on Aki. "Seems like you won the duel, but why does everything look like this?" Crow asked.

Suddenly, a searing pain pulsed through my head.

 ** _'_** ** _Feed.'_**

I gave a staggered cry as I clutched my head and fell to my knees. I felt more than saw the mark on my arm begin to flare up.

" **Skylar/Nii-san!** " I heard numerous voices cry. The voices sounded alarmed and alarmingly distant.

 ** _'_** ** _I am come.'_**

Suddenly the earth began to shake, that or whoever had crouched down to clutch my arms was trying to shake me out of this pain induced trance.

My vision blurred and I saw without seeing – something intense and sinister and it was overwhelming and suffocating and it promised nothing but darkness and _DesolationMiseryAnguish_.

The doors of the underworld were open – and its King was making its way to the world of the living. But this world wouldn't remain of the living if the King was allowed to roam. Destruction would surely come.

Death would surely come.

Even as the earthquake abated, violent tremors ran through my body.

Suddenly my head was captured within a steady grip – at least I think it was.

"Sky–…tell…what's wrong," Yusei's voice – that was his I was sure, but it sounded…warped. I felt smaller hands on my shoulders. I think Lua and Luca were trying to say something to me. But I couldn't quite make out what it was. I was losing touch with my surroundings and I was focusing more and more on the imminent presence of one, solitary being.

"The K-king o-of the Underworld."

A threatening shriek pierced the atmosphere.

The King of the Underworld.

.

.

.

.

" **He is come**."

* * *

Word Count: 4536

* * *

A/N: The next chapter is the last of the Dark Signer Arc. I initially hadn't meant to do as much of Aki's duel with Misty as I did. But I realized I had to seeing as Divine is currently...indisposed. Misty had to find out the truth somehow and Sky was her best bet. I apologize for any mistakes in/choppiness of the chapter. I really wanted to get rid of this chapter.

With the DS Arc coming to a close I'm really looking forward to writing about the Pre-WRPG and WRPG Arc - a lot of character development is going to go down. With that said I have a few questions:

How many of you guys would like to see YuseixSkylar? And are you thinking of any other pairings? Or should I keep it Gen? Let me know.

And another question: Anybody interested in seeing Skylar in Yu-gi-oh! 3D Bonds Beyond Time? I plan on doing it either way (surprise), but I am curious about what y'all think.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed/viewed/favourited/followed!

Constructive criticism/comments/questions/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

U.P.: Sign Out


	29. Chapter 29

I do not own Yu-gi-oh! 5D's

Chapter 29 – A New Hope

– _Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow_ – Albert Einstein

* * *

"Just great," Jack Atlas griped, watching varying colours of light burst forth from the site of Old Momentum, "The harbinger of death and destruction is right at our feet."

"The doors of the underworld are completely open," Mikage declared breathily.

Jack's body tensed as his gaze returned to Skylar's prone form nestled in Yusei's arms. The green-eyed girl had promptly passed out after her ominous declaration.

Jack's eyes narrowed.

She'd obviously be of no use to them for the remainder of what was to come – the King of the Underworld apparently.

Jack vaguely recalled that she was supposedly sensitive to the Dark Signers' presence and the powers of their Earthbound Gods, so he supposed having the Lord of the Earthbound Gods so close was too much for her.

Jack scoffed under his breath.

She'd managed to defeat her Dark Signer opponent so he hadn't expected the reaction to the King of the Underworld be so bad. As soon as this was all over, he was going to let her have it.

Another ear-splitting screeched sounded around them and the earth rumbled as a large black mass of murky sludge suddenly shot up from where the old reactor was.

Jack's lips curled in disgust as he watched it rise higher and take the form of a bony, red eyed, four-winged muck dragon.

Soon, without so much as a glance in their direction, the ominous beast began to creep away from where it had emerged. It's gaze – towards the condor geoglyph in the sky.

"That black mass is setting his sights on the light in the city," Luca gasped from where she had been crouched down beside her Nanny.

Crow was the next to speak. "Yusei, Rudger said that if you fail in sealing the four towers, that the King of the Underworld would appear."

Jack resisted the urge to roll his eyes. They hadn't known such an important detail before they had set out for their separate battles. They had known that they had to seal the four towers, but they hadn't been privy to what was on the other side.

But that really didn't matter much at this point.

Now they knew whose entry they had been forestalling and it was a downright _ugly_ beast.

"Then, you mean the world is doomed!?" Ushio asked. "That it'll be locked in the darkness of the underworld!?"

"But, we are all still here. That means it isn't completely locked in."

"Yeah, but –" Lua's comment was interrupted when his sister cried out in pain, grabbing at her right arm. Jack hoped that she wasn't about to faint on them as well.

"Oh no! We can't let that thing head towards the light," she declared. "That's what Kuribbon is insisting!"

"What do you mean?" Yusei asked as he stood to his feet, Skylar cradled in his arms.

The King of the Underworld continued its movement, entering the water as it advanced towards the city.

"We can't let it go there!" Luca panicked.

"Will you calm down?" Jack ordered. Panicking would get them nowhere.

It was then that he felt a familiar heat run throughout his body. His mark flared up – and it looked as if Yusei, Aki and Luca's marks did the same.

There was lightning and thunder and just as if he were an answer to a prayer, the Crimson Dragon descended from the overcast sky.

It was about time.

The Crimson Dragon let out a mighty roar before it turned its sight on them. Its jowls widened. The next thing he knew, they all became encompassed in a beam of light.

What happened next gave him an extreme sense of déjà vu. He glanced around him and it looked as if they were all travelling through outer space – what with the numerous stars around them. The first time this had happened was when he was dueling Yusei in the Fortune Cup finals.

"We're inside the Crimson Dragon," Aki said in awe.

"What does it plan to do with us?" Yusei wondered. Surprisingly he still had a hold of Skylar.

One moment they were travelling through space (or whatever), the next they stood at the foot of a shrine that was all too familiar to him.

At the very top of the shrine was the condor geoglyph.

"What in blazes is going on!? Why are we at the shine in the basement of Godwin's mansion?"

"So the light we could see from Satellite was coming from here?" Aki asked.

Jack scoffed as the reality began to sunk in. He always knew that Godwin was seedy. He hadn't imagined that he'd be this seedy.

"Does this mean we were transported to the city from the Satellite just like that!?" Lua queried as he glanced around.

Yusei was the one who replied to him. "It seems so."

"I have been waiting on you Signers."

Jack's eyes immediately looked to the top of the giant stairway – the source of the voice, Godwin's voice.

"It would appear that you were victorious in your battle against the Dark Signers. However, you were unable to seal the door of the underworld."

Jack's hands clenched into fists at his side as the owner of the voice finally became visible.

"Godwin! Tell us please! Did we end up losing!?" Yusei began, "The world is it –"

"Yes, over," Godwin finished, a smile on his face. "The King of the Underworld is approaching us every moment that ticks by."

"Why is the King of the Underworld coming here!?"

Jack scoffed. "Don't bother Yusei." Jack glared at Godwin, "I'd bet my deck that Godwin's the reason why it's coming here. It's obvious isn't it?"

Jack Atlas knew Godwin. He knew that Godwin was an 'the ends justify the means' sort of person. And he'd long since known of Godwin's desire for a Nirvana-like world. The former King of riding duels wouldn't put anything past him.

Jack watched as Godwin smirked. "This shrine is sacred, ceremonial ground – that's why it's coming here."

"Ceremonial?" Yusei asked.

"Quite. It is for the purposes of this ritual that I used the Crimson Dragon and called upon all of you."

And the plot thickened.

Of all the things for Godwin to reveal – a containment unit with a severed hand, a severed hand that bore the final Crimson Dragon mark, the Dragon Head was not one that Jack had expected. He gripped his own hand as he recalled that Godwin had a metal prosthetic for his left arm.

But Signer marks were usually on the right arms weren't they.

"Who's arm is that?" Jack demanded.

"The Dragon Head belongs to my brother, Rudger."

Jack heard gagging noise behind him – probably from Lua. He didn't blame him though. The sight was perturbing.

What made for an even more perturbing sight was when Godwin turned his back to them – his arms spread wide. An ominous whirring sound suddenly arose and in a matter of seconds, upon Godwin's back was the imprint of the condor geoglyph.

A collective gasp sounded but Jack himself suppressed a growl.

Just great.

* * *

I would have loved to have passed out and awoken to find that the final battle was over. That Godwin had been defeated and the lives of the Dark Signers had been renewed.

Too bad I didn't always get what I wanted.

What I woke up to was not the jubilant celebration of light over darkness. Instead I awoke to a plane of reality that was strikingly similar to outer space.

There was neither top nor bottom and to my left and to my right there were nothing to suggest that there were any boundaries to where I was. And I just floated there.

"This is why I prefer solid land," I commented blithely. "I've spent too much of my time floating aimlessly."

" _I have become a Dark Signer!_ "

"Godwin?" I snapped as my head shifted to look all around me. Where had his voice come from?

" _With my Dark Signer powers, I shall make this arm mine._ "

My nose crinkled in disgust. Although I could not see Godwin, I could hear him clearly. I knew exactly what was happening. Godwin was attempting to control the power of two Gods.

But such power was never meant to be controlled by man. How audacious of him.

" _Godwin what's your scheme?!_ "

Yusei.

" _I shall become a God!_ "

I scoffed.

" _The Crimson Dragon and Wicked God – I shall garner both of these powers and become an Ultimate God!_ "

The dimensional space around me began to rumble – how I don't know but, it just looked like everything around me was shaking.

The stage was being set.

" _We shall hereby begin the ceremony to usher in the King of the Underworld!_ "

One by one the stars around me appeared to go out – as if they were a lit candle being blown out as tendrils of darkness reached to overshadow them.

" _We shall hold the ceremony with a Riding Duel from the condor geoglyph_!"

My breath hitched as the darkness closed in on me.

" _Yes. I shall crush you Signers till nothing remains! I will offer you all as sacrifice to the King of the Underworld!_ "

Around me, it became pitch black.

 ** _Lub-dub_**

 ** _Lub-dub_**

I hated the dark. It was cold and lonely.

 ** _Lub-dub_**

 ** _Lub-dub_**

The world couldn't become like this. It just couldn't.

 ** _Lub-dub_**

 ** _Lub-dub_**

The world was filled with so many people I'd come to love. People that I needed to protected.

 ** _Lub-dub_**

 ** _Lub-dub_**

I…I wouldn't let this world fall to the darkness.

The birthmark on my right hand blazed up and the darkness retreated just as much. A loud screech echoed around me.

" _So what will you do? The King of the Underworld will soon be here!_ "

Suddenly photons of light converged around my left arm and before I knew it my duel disk formed.

I raised my right arm higher and around me became even brighter. I hummed as energy flowed through me and my connection with the Signers – Jack, Luca, Aki and Yusei – felt stronger than it ever had been.

" _Godwin, if we win this duel, will the King of the Underworld…_ " Yusei's frustration was palpable.

" _Yes, probably disappear. However, I will not let that happen!_ "

"We'll see," I spoke confidently to the darkness. The tendrils retreated in on themselves further, before they stopped and began to form bastardized miniature crow-dragon creatures. Each one screeched at me.

My duel disk activated and I placed my hand on the first card on top of my desk. I wasn't going to back down.

" _I accept this duel_!" – Yusei.

" _Godwin! I am going to disperse of you_!" – Jack.

" _Count me in_!" – Crow.

I wasn't in this alone anyway.

" _Let's do this, Godwin!_ "

The murky creatures attacked.

* * *

If I were another person, watching someone else battle against hordes of dark sludge monsters – I had a feeling that each and every one of them were a part of the Dark King – I'd think it was pretty cool.

But seeing it was I who was up against these monsters, I found it very taxing. I had summoned up to three monsters already Silent Magician LV 8, Defender, the Magical Knight and Crusader of Endymion.

I was currently in the present realm as a spirit (who'd have thought that I'd have an out of body experience), and although I didn't have the restrictions that came with a physical body there were still limitations as to what I could do.

Summoning three monsters was my limit.

I wasn't sure of how long I could last. But I knew that I had to hold out until Yusei, Jack and Crow won against Godwin. I also knew that someway somehow I was slowing down the Dark King.

I tried my best to duck and dodge, so that my monsters could focus more on attacking than defending. Silent Magician was the monster that stayed close to me regardless though. These were the duel spirits that were in my cards.

And again I reiterate, if I had been on the outside of all this, this would be pretty cool.

I grunted as I crouched away from a strike from one of the monsters, which was then promptly blasted away by my Magician.

I learnt of a lot of things that I'd have to do coming out of this entire Dark Signer arc. Another thing to add to the list – sign up with a gym. I gasped as I tried to catch my breath. I was too out of shape.

"I'd appreciate some help!" I yelled to no one in particular, after all who was there to help me. I still didn't know how to fight and I was being swarmed by the monsters.

"Mystic Swordsman LV4 attack!"

My eyes widened as a sword made its way over my shoulder and into the chest of a dragon that had slipped past my monsters.

I knew that voice!

I spun around and sure enough, my eyes met with clear magenta ones. I grinned excitedly. "Yoshi!"

He was still fitted in Dark Signer garb, but it was 100% Yoshi. He gave me a small smile. "You hollered?"

"Fortune Lady Light! Expel the darkness!"

I ducked or at least spun out of the way of the declared attack. I shielded my eyes as a bright light caused the dissolution of even more of the Dark King's forces.

I looked to the fairy monster, the source of the attack and saw someone glance at me sheepishly from behind her wings.

"You?!"

That was Carly…Jack's Carly.

"I'll help Jack in any way that I can," she announced with a small blush on her face.

Before I could comment, several more attacks came from behind her – all aimed at the dark forces ahead of me.

I looked to see even more familiar faces – all of whom had been Dark Signers.

"I'd like to do my best to keep the world of my siblings and my friends safe." – Bomber, his Volcanic Rocket was at his side.

"It's not quite Team Satisfaction, but I'd hate for those three to duel without me." – That was Kiryu and his Archfiend General stood ready to attack.

"I owe Aki a lot," Misty spoke up, before she smiled at me. "I owe a debt to you as well. Let me repay it." The former model commanded her Bad End Queen Dragon.

I was bewildered to say the least. How had the former Dark Signers ended up where I was? Weren't their souls supposed to be forever lost…at least until after Godwin was defeated?

I was bewildered, but relieved…I'd welcome the help.

I wouldn't 'look a gift horse in the mouth' as the saying went. I looked at Yoshi once more before my smile turned vicious.

I turned back to my monsters.

My odds just got better.

* * *

Thus far Crow Hogan had two words to sum up Godwin and his brother – 'Bat-shit Crazy'.

First there was Rudger – who had apparently been the first chosen host for a five-thousand year old war between the Crimson Dragon and the Earthbound Gods. The Dark Signer leader had had the choice to choose to fight for the light, but he chose to succumb to the darkness instead.

He'd even gone as far as to sever his own hand – the left one that had housed the Crimson Dragon's mark.

Crow almost couldn't believe it. What he'd give to be a Signer for the Crimson Dragon. He knew it wasn't all fanciful and that it wasn't a pathway embedded with daisies or anything like that, but he knew that it'd be a stellar responsibility. To be chosen to defend mankind – it was mind blowing.

Next was Godwin – what with his babble of assembling the Signers as if they were chess pieces. There was also his current goal of wanting to do what his brother had failed to do – house two Gods, thus by becoming an 'Ultimate God' and eventually recreate the world in his own image.

And as if Crow was about to believe that Godwin was the Hero from the Daedalus Bridge – the Legendary D-wheeler. He might have been, but he wasn't anymore. That hero had been a symbol of hope and freedom – things that Godwin now sought to destroy.

Never before had he encountered a man so full of bull.

"In order to change destiny, one must surpass humanity and become a God! And only then will a miracle happen!"

There was no way he was going to allow the legend that he and his friends held so dear.

Crow looked over to Yusei and Jack when he heard each of them groan. "What's up guys?" he asked as he revved his D-wheel.

"All the birthmarks are on Godwin!" Yusei exclaimed.

It was then that Godwin let out a long, loud cackle. "I am the Ultimate God!"

Crow growled. Things just got even more difficult.

* * *

I stopped abruptly when I felt my connection with the other Signers suddenly disappear. It was if they – Luca, Aki, Jack, Yusei – just lost their Signer marks or something.

" _I am the Ultimate God_!"

I felt a serious migraine come on as I pulled my arm to my chest.

The light from my mark dimmed and I felt its power flow from me, as if it were being drained – siphoned from me little by little.

" _To reign over destiny, there is no other choice but for myself to become a God and create a new world_!"

Like hell I was about to let him step on my friends.

I floated to the back of the group and the others took that as a non-verbal cue to cover me. Once I was a small distance away, I did my best to focus on the ebbing power of the Crimson Dragon. Godwin was trying to take my mark away – he was trying to take my power away. And although I'd felt burdened by the brand more often than not – this wasn't how I wanted to lose it. Not if losing it meant that the destruction of the world was closer.

" _We already have the bond known as 'friendship'!_ "

That's right – though the mark seemed like a chain. It was also a bond – it connected to the others, my friends.

…Oh great, Yusei had officially inculcated me with all his 'Bonds of Friendship' speeches.

I focused on that power that was flowing away, as if it were a ribbon being tugged away and I latched onto it. I latched onto it and pulled.

" _It's an absolutely steadfast symbol! With these bonds, we will tear down destiny!_ "

Well, at least I would surely try. My Fate was already set in stone…but perhaps I could make leeway with Destiny.

" ** _What a nuisance_** ," Godwin's voice sounded only he sounded louder somehow, " ** _You'll never win Kameyo. None of you will_**."

I gave a pained shout – one because he had said my name, which meant that he was well aware of what was happening in the spiritual realm. Secondly because what felt like electricity ran through my body (and I was sure that if I had been in my body I just may have suffered second degree burns) and the ribbon was torn from my grasp.

"Skylar!"

Yoshi was by my side in an instant. "I couldn't hold on," I grumbled in frustration. I glanced at my arm – my mark was gone.

I released another sound of frustration before I turned back to my duel monsters – even if my mark was gone, I could at least continue to do what I could. I faltered when I realized that all three of my monsters weren't moving. Instead they just floated where they stood – frozen.

"What's happening?" I asked bewildered. My bewilderment and worry grew when I saw them begin to fade.

I turned widened eyes to Yoshi, wondering if he had an answer. By the small frown on his face, it seemed like he did. It was then that he gave a resigned sigh.

Without another word he turned away from me – he was returning to the battle at hand – and my arm shot out to clutch at him.

I gasped when my arm went straight _through_ him.

My eyes bulged as I brought my hand, my _hands_ to my face. They were translucent and they were fading by the moment.

I took the time to glance down at the rest of my body. _I_ was fading by the moment.

"Your Crimson Dragon Mark was what was keeping you here," Yoshi intoned. "Now that it's gone, you can't stay in this realm anymore."

It made sense that the mark was acting like an anchor to this plane of reality. But I couldn't just leave Yoshi and all the others. The Dark King's forces were unrelenting. And even though the former Dark Signers were holding their own against them, they'd need all the help they could get.

"It's okay Skylar," Yoshi turned and smiled at me. "I think you've done enough."

"But I can still do more," I protested, "I don't want to leave you again."

Even as I said this my own voice became distant.

"Don't worry," he continued, "It always darkest before dawn. When you wake up, it'll be brighter."

I considered his words, even as my vision began to fade. He…he was right. Before I completely lost sight of him I gave as best a smile as I could.

"Okay."

* * *

"Why do you think it hasn't moved?" Luca asked Aki as she turned back to glance at the gigantic form that was the King of the Underworld. It had remained as it was – still, in the water that was between the Satellite and Neo Domino City.

Aki let on to what she was thinking when her eyes flitted to Skylar's body that was being propped up by Ushio.

"Nii-san?" Lua asked from where he stood beside his sister. "You think she's the reason?"

"Maybe," Aki replied as her left hand went to where her Signer mark had been, "She still has her Dragon mark. So maybe she's fighting the battle that we cannot see."

"You mean in the Spiritual realm?" Lua cried excitedly.

Aki nodded her head.

"That's so cool!" the blue-green haired twin cheered. Aki's lips quirked into a small smile. She was glad that he could be so jubilant despite their current situation. It was persons like him who made it difficult for others to give up hope and Aki respected him for it.

"Wait, what's happening to Nii-san?!" Luca suddenly yelled, "Her arm! Her mark is fading!"

And sure enough, right before their eyes, they saw Skylar's dragon mark completely vanish from her arm.

"This doesn't mean that she lost right?" Lua's voice was panicky, but Aki didn't know what to say to make him because she herself wasn't sure.

Godwin's sinister cackle sounded. "Finally!" they heard him rejoice, "I am the Ultimate God with everything inscribed upon my body!"

"What is he going on about now?" Ushio groaned. "How was this nut let into the Public Security in the first place?"

Luca felt the hairs at the nape of her neck stand on end. There…was something menacing in the atmosphere – something deadly was coming.

"Bring about ultimate destruction, mightiest of Earthbound Gods!"

Luca's eyes widened at Godwin's declaration. It was –

"Come forth, Wiraqocha Rasca!"

No sooner had he said that than thousands of purple lights arose from the city. All rose to be absorbed into the heart-like cocoon that Earthbound monsters tended to appear from.

Luca clasped her hands to her ears as her limbs trembled. She could hear them. The panicked, desperate cries of the souls that were being taken, the souls that were being consumed.

The Earthbound God that finally emerged when the cocoon burst open with an intense light was by far the most colossal one of all the Earthbound God's she'd seen. The Condor-like Earthbound God was…immense and intimidating.

It was then that a loud, guttural sound escaped the immobile form that was the King of the Underworld. Suddenly masses of black sludge broke away from the monster's body only to form into smaller bird/dragon like monsters in turn.

And then to their increasing horror the Dark King then began to move.

Luca watched as the small monsters flew from their master to flock around the duel field.

"The ceremony is nearing its climax!" Godwin laughed, "It seems that not even the King of the Underworld can contain his excitement over the Earthbound God making it appearance!"

"Man, he can talk," Lua mumbled, even as his eyes darted to look at the monsters that flocked the duel field.

As if Yusei and the others didn't have enough to worry about. Luca shifted uneasily where she stood.

She clenched her eyes shut as her breathing hitched.

What were they supposed to do? Why were the odds so stacked against them? Why did all of this have to be happening?

"He is calling out for me to awaken him from his deep slumber and quench his five-thousand year thirst with the blood from all of you!"

Why…Why…Why couldn't she be of more help? She really wanted to help. She didn't just want to sit back and watch.

 _"_ _I may not have my mark right now, but I'm still a Signer."_

Luca's brain halted at the thought.

 _"_ _That's right! I'm still a Signer!"_

It was then that Luca wordlessly fumbled with her duel disk.

"Wait Luca, what are you doing?" her brother asked noticing her sudden movement.

"The Signer dragons," Luca answered removing her Ancient Fairy Dragon from her deck, her gaze immediately sought Aki's. "On this field, we can harness their powers!"

Aki's eyes widened briefly at the revelation before she too went to search for her Signer dragon. Once found, the two female Signers shared an intense look.

"You mean you think you can hurt those things?" Ushio exclaimed. The blue-green haired Signer nodded.

"Let's do our best to help them Aki-nee-chan," Luca announced, disk activated. She fixed her gaze on the field filled with monsters, determination burning in her eyes.

Aki nodded in agreement, activating her duel disk as well, her focus on the field as well. "Let's fight for our friends!"

Indeed. They had to protect the bonds that they had.

"Ancient Fairy Dragon!" Luca called on her monster.

"And Black Rose Dragon!"

" **Come forth**!"

The loud, guttural roars of two dragons pierced the atmosphere and with those roars, a little more hope was brought as well.

* * *

"You know we have to stop meeting like this," I commented flippantly as I squinted up at the Crimson Dragon. "Can we meet someplace else next time?"

For here I was…floating…in a void… _again_.

"Like a meadow or an open field – somewhere with some light…and colour?"

I got the weird feeling that the celestial body that was floating before me was doing its best to give me a deadpan expression.

I shrugged at the silence that followed. "I couldn't feel you," I eventually uttered. "Your mark was taken from me…I had thought that, Godwin took your powers and that you were gone."

No sooner had I said that than the Crimson unleashed its high pitched cry. It moved and slowly began to encircle me. I closed my eyes as I felt its power brush against my senses.

 ** _'_** ** _It is not his to have nor take.'_**

"It doesn't seem like it," I couldn't help but answer back, "Godwin has all the powers and we have nothing."

The Crimson Dragon felt…warm. Its presence was…comforting.

 ** _'_** ** _Have faith.'_**

 _"_ _Our wishes – our bonds – will overcome destiny!"_

I sighed contemplatively. "I wasn't doubting anyone."

In my mind's eyes I saw images, flashes of the duel that was taking place – I knew that it was the Crimson Dragon's doing. I wasn't sure how, but honestly most things that the celestial being did stumped me.

There was Crow.

There was Jack.

There was Yusei.

All three of them were fighting. Both Jack and Crow were down and Yusei was barely hanging onto to the match – but they were all still fighting. Luca and Aki, though they weren't directly involved in the duel, they were both combating the advancing Dark King's monstrous force.

Everyone was fighting.

 _"_ _Not yet. I've yet to falter."_

"That's right," I announced as I finally opened my eyes. I felt a familiar power surge throughout my body. "It may not last long but for now…I have faith. I have hope."

 _"_ _I have hope, so I will never give into despair! And what supports that hope are the bonds with my friends!_

I've always been afraid to hope. It was something that I understood little of in my first life – Bonds. Even with the life that I had now, it had been difficult to accept.

Love.

Friendship.

Bonds.

I…earnestly craved them…these things that strengthen Hope – that keep Hope alive.

There was another roar.

The atmosphere around me was decidedly wrought with energy – poised, coiled ready to be unleashed.

"Yes, it's almost over."

And then as if a high-strung cord had been broken – I became eclipsed in crimson light.

* * *

If hope is strong enough and if a person is willing to ardently fight, Destiny will conform to the Spirit of Man.

Which was why Yusei was determined to win. He was going to win – for the sake of his friends.

"Why? Didn't the Crimson Dragon choose the Godlike figure that is me!?" Godwin asked wildly.

The mark that Yusei now had on his right arm – the mark of the Crimson Dragon's head – pulsed – it radiated power and _life_.

It was never about being 'Godlike'. The reason why the Crimson Dragon had selected them, the Signers, and the reason why the Crimson Dragon had returned to them – it was about the connections. The connections, the ties, the links that they would all make between each other, with each other.

They were stronger together. These bonds that existed between he and his friends – they were strong enough to overcome any obstacle.

Yusei stared resolutely towards Godwin.

"It chose bonds! These bonds of ours are going to surpass destiny!"

A sudden blast of energy coursed throughout his body and the card on top of his deck began to gleam and glow.

Even now, with only 1 Life Point and only one monster on his side of the field, even now, he could still feel the support of his friends – the belief of his friends.

"It's my…turn!"

It was time he ended this. There was no way he was going to lose.

* * *

 _For battles are not won with hate or despair_

 _Nor is there any place or room for doubt or fear_

 _So reach for the heavens – the stars, the moon, the sun_

 _And Hope, always Hope, and then you would have already won._

* * *

Yusei awoke to find that he was standing in the middle of an endless starry sky. He had opened his eyes for all of five seconds when he heard…Skylar?

"This makes three times in one day!" was her loud, exasperated declaration. He snapped his head to the left only to see her lying spread eagle on her back.

Soon green irises shifted to glance up at him.

"Looks like you won," she commented lightly.

"How did you get here?" he asked as he offered his hand to her. When she took hold of it, he helped her up.

"Same as you I suppose," she began as she pulled at her jacket sleeve, "Assuming that you were enveloped by the Crimson Dragon and propelled towards a giant monster king."

That…about summed it up really.

They all led an interesting life.

Yusei's gaze shifted to his right and his eyes widened when he saw the bodies of Dark Signers – well the former Dark Signers – lying prostrate.

Skylar, who saw the bodies as well, gave a relieved sigh. "I'm glad they're okay," she mumbled.

Yusei concurred, but before he could voice as much, a presence before them made him shift his focus yet again.

Yusei found himself staring into familiar grey irises.

"Godwin…"

The man looked…normal, though there was something heavy and remorseful about his look. A second figure then faded into view alongside Godwin – it was his brother. Rudger – he too looked normal. Neither looked like the dark, crazed madmen they had been.

"Brother," Godwin turned to his brother, "It would appear that we have taken a roundabout course."

Beside him Skylar scoffed.

Both Godwin and his brother turned to them.

"Yusei Fudo, without you, we probably would not have been able to realize that."

"Godwin…"

"The means to stand against destiny. They are the bonds between humans – between friends. And it has been within me this entire time…"

Truthfully, Yusei felt that he couldn't take any sort of credit. He had only carried forward what he had learnt from being with his friends.

A serene smile made its way on Godwin's face. He looked towards the former Dark Signers. "Yusei, take care of them. They will soon revive."

Yusei was glad that that was the case – that they'd all get a _real_ second chance at life. Kiryu, Bomber, all of them – they'd have a chance to start afresh.

"Looking at the two of you like this," Skylar began as she scrutinized the two men, "No one would have ever guessed that you sought to cast the earth into a perpetual darkness."

Rudger spoke for the first time since his appearance. "Although a simple apology is insufficient. We truly are sorry to them for what we put them through."

"We are sorry for what we put _all_ of you through," Godwin addressed Skylar.

"Let us close the chapter on this fate," Godwin announced as the brothers turned to each other, "With our bonds as brothers."

The light that then appeared had both Yusei and Skylar shielding their eyes.

Skylar spoke to him as they watched the brothers enter what could only be described as a portal of light. "You know even though they've admitted their faults and learned about the strength and power of bonds and all," Skylar muttered, "I still want to punch them."

An unbidden smile stretched across Yusei's face as he regarded her in amusement. It was then that the light before them expanded and Yusei felt a tugging sensation at his midriff.

"I'm glad," Skylar mused as they became encased in light, "After this we'll see a new morning."

Yeah, they'd see a new morning and they'd have a new hope.

* * *

I groaned as I came to.

Being thrown around in the spiritual realm only to be thrown back into your body – and having your body feel the pain you incurred while battling in said realm (coupled with the pain you were already had) made for an unpleasant way to wake up.

I ached all over.

I so should have found some way to have Godwin pay for my medical bills. I shouldn't have let him just walk off into the after-life like that. And then there was that Crimson Dragon too.

Although I relished the sight of seeing the King of the Underworld disintegrate in an enormous beam of light and feeling the erasure of its dark presence – I didn't necessarily wish to see it so up close.

"Are you finally awake you useless girl?" Jack's condescending voice reached my ears and they twitched.

I blinked rapidly as I became more aware of my surroundings. As it was, I was being propped up by Ushio, while everyone else surrounded me.

My eyes sought out Jack and once he was in my line of vision, they narrowed. "And exactly how am I useless?" I frowned at him.

Jack scoffed, his arms folded. He looked as banged up as both Yusei and Crow did.

"You were out cold for the entire duel. Even your little brats were of more help than you."

I ignored the twin cries of indignation as I glared at Jack. I got to my feet and faced him. I hated the fact that he was so much taller than me.

"I was in a major battle in the spiritual realm thank you very much. I was directly forestalling the King of the Underworld. And what were you doing? Being wiped to the floor by Godwin."

"We could have probably done well enough without you," Jack scowled, "I'm the entire reason Yusei won either way. I allowed him to be the one to finish Godwin."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh how magnanimous of you."

Static passed through our gazes as our eyes narrowed in on each other.

"Geez you two," Crow commented as he popped up between us, looking as if he were about to speak with whining kids. "You guys sound like a pair of bickering children."

Jack and I turned our glares on him.

"But Crow," Yusei interrupted, a smile playing on his lips, "You and Jack are worse when the two of you argue."

"Oi, Yusei!" Crow exclaimed, looking betrayed. "Whose side are you on?"

Jack and I smirked as everyone else dissolved in laughter. I basked in the…all of this. It was a decidedly feel good moment. As it should feel. We had just overcome a major obstacle.

I glanced up at the sky – the sun had only just begun to rise and the heavens danced with the colours of dawn. It looked much better than the doom and gloom of the day before.

A comment from Lua brought me back to the present. "Your D-wheels look like they were run over by a car…and a truck," he blanched at the damaged Runners that had all been grouped together a little way in front of us. Thankfully mine had been transferred along with the others' Runners.

I smiled at his bluntness. Luca elbowed her brother in his side for his comment and Aki giggled at the both of them.

I, along with the other D-wheelers, walked over to our vehicles. I found that Lua's observation was about as accurate as it got.

I sighed. The old man was going to kill me when he saw this. I doubt I'd be able to tell him how it ended up the way it did either.

"They're not that bad. A few days in the shop is all they need," Yusei commented as he crouched before them. I knew that even then, he was going over the repairs that needed to be done in his head. He turned to glance at Jack and Crow. "You guys up for it?"

"What are you inviting us to a bonding session or something?" Jack raised his nose in apparent distaste.

It was then that Crow hopped up and threw his arm around Jack's shoulder, causing the taller one to stumble forward. "Sounds like a plan," Crow grinned, ignoring Jack's not-quite glare and giving Yusei a thumbs up.

"Don't just volunteer me to do work," Jack scowled at Crow, removing Crow's arm from around his shoulders and shifting his hold so that he had Crow in a head lock.

I watched in nothing short of amusement as a miniature brawl ensued between the two of them. What more is that each of them had persons rooting for them.

"You can do it Atlas-sama!" Mikage yelled her support.

"Come on Crow! Show him what you got!" Ushio cheered in response.

"Go, go, Crow!" Lua shouted.

Luca gave an embarrassed groan before she hid her face in Aki's side. "Please make them stop Nee-chan."

Aki looked on, seeming both bemused and worried. "I didn't think that our group could get any livelier," she admitted.

I covered my mouth to stifle a laugh. If only she knew.

"Things became difficult like you said they would," Yusei commented, coming to stand by my side.

It wasn't long before my mind's eye flitted back to that time when the two of us had been in the park. It had been their first 'heart to heart' (for want of a better term).

Yusei continued, a smile played on his lips as he turned to watch his – our – friends act about.

"But I had my friends with me every step of the way just like you said too."

New bonds had been made while old ones were reconnected and strengthened. Yusei did seem pretty content. And, as I glanced at the smiling, happy faces of the persons – my friends – around me, I found that I was content too.

All things considered, maybe making connections in this world wasn't as bad a thing as I thought.

"It wasn't easy," I echoed, recalling what he had said, "But it was worth it."

.

.

.

 _I suppose I wouldn't mind if I had a few more of these happy moments ahead of me._

* * *

Word Count: 6770

* * *

A/N: Yes it is done! Finally, the Dark Signer Arc is over! The next chapter to come will most likely be shorter and have a filler/transition vibe to it – may. Or I could just do a chapter filled with omakes…or I could do both.

I'll edit this chapter a bit more later, so please excuse any errors. Quite a bit happened in this chapter though. First off, I'd always wondered what had happened to the Dark Signer's souls after they got defeated. I found that I liked the thought of them being able to…aid in the fight against the King of the Underworld as opposed to them just being gone.

Skylar always seems to end up in a void or some realm or some inter-dimensional space, but there is a method to my madness. There were quite a few POV changes, I know, I'll try to keep as much of it in Sky's POV as I can. With that said – I was lazy with this chapter and it was long regardless.

Finally – I'm tremendously happy that so many you guys reviewed last chapter. Thank you all for sharing your opinions and believe me when I say that I'll take them into consideration as I make my decision re the pairing. As for the BBT movie – look forward to it. Please continue to read and review though – those reviews actually got me motivated and made me look forward (even more so) to writing and updating. So…keep up the support please!

Long A/N, I know, but thank you for staying with **Reborn to be a Duelist** 'til now. See ya next chapter.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed/viewed/favourited/followed! Seriously - thank you. And to the guest reviewer(s) too - thanks!

Constructive criticism/comments/questions/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

U.P.: Sign Out


	30. Chapter 30

I do not own Yu-gi-oh! 5D's

Chapter 30 – Another Beginning

– _Perhaps that is where our choice lies – in determining how we will meet the inevitable end of things, and how we will greet each new beginning_ – Elana K. Arnold

* * *

Quite a few things happened in the two months that followed the Dark Signers' attack. For one construction on the Daedalus Bridge had begun. It seemed that Rex Godwin had made good on his promise from beyond the grave – that or Yeager was just throwing a bone to the public. He needed to look good, what with him becoming the Interim Director of the Public Security Maintenance Bureau.

Godwin hadn't left the company with a good public image at all. No doubt Yeager's first job was to restore some measure of the public's faith in the expanse corporation.

There were also talks of an extensive highway that would generate a massive in flow persons – particularly D-wheelers – from outside of NDC.

No doubt the World Racing Grand Prix would soon be announced – and a new wave of trouble would be ushered in.

The other major event was that I decided to go back to school – part-time.

I decided that it was about time that I took a more proactive approach to my future. I couldn't necessarily remain with the twins for the rest of my life. While I loved Lua and Luca, I knew that I wanted to do more than just be their nanny.

With that said I knew that I'd have to quit my job as their live-in-nanny at some point.

Though, honestly one would think that I'd have been fired by now, what with all the dangerous situations the two pre-teens got into when under my supervision. Yet, I was still receiving a pay check at the end of the month.

The twins' parents remained ignorant of the events that took place a few months back (aside from the twins' participation in the Fortune Cup, though I feel they only knew that much because the event was televised). It was a pitiful thing really.

After careful deliberation over a number of weeks I finally decided on the path that I wanted to take or at least start on.

Graphic Designing.

It was a comfortable enough area – I mean, I was an excellent artist and over the years, aside from reading through Duelist and D-wheel books, I had also spent some amount of time on the basics of Graphic Designing since it first caught my interest when I was younger.

Even though I knew that the field required more than my ability to draw and the understanding of the few fundamentals I had under my belt, I was willing to plan it all out and put in the effort to work at it.

Which was exactly why I signed up for an 18-month program in Graphic Designing in Animation. The syllabus promised to be an intense and rigorous one, judging by how they structured the different courses within it.

Oddly enough, when I finally got around to telling everyone about my plans, it was at the party that Yusei, Jack and Crow were having to celebrate them moving into a new apartment (that came with an underground garage) right behind the clock shop – Poppo Time.

Everyone whom I'd expected to be at the party was there – Aki, Lua, Luca, Mikage, Ushio and Carly. Spike, Saiga and Yanagi, along with Yusei's satellite friends hadn't been able to make it. It would've made for a tight fit though – the apartment could only hold so many persons.

The party was Crow's idea and it was a great one. He was an attentive host as well – attentive in comparison to Jack Atlas at least.

Of course they were nothing but supportive. They congratulated me on my decision to seek a higher education (Ushio, Aki, Jack), urged me to always think time management (Mikage, Carly), insisted that I call upon them whenever I wanted de-stress when the school work got to me (Crow, Lua) and offered to help me study (Luca, Yusei).

They were all…pretty good friends.

Speaking of friends…my eyes flitted towards Jack's seated form.

"All you do lately is sit around and drink coffee," I stated unimpressed.

My statement wasn't all that true however. He, Yusei and Crow had been working on their Runner's – and mine – almost non-stop for the past few weeks. Their dedication was admirable and they didn't even know about the WRGP yet.

I was too used to trading banter with Jack – that was the real issue here. Then again it wasn't my fault that I felt the need to knock his ego down a few pegs so that he could remain grounded with the rest of us.

Or perhaps I secretly found our spats entertaining…?

…Nah.

Jack scoffed as he lowered his tea cup. He was seated around a small coffee table. He exuded his usual 'better than thou' aura in spades, "When are you leaving again?"

I rolled my eyes as I took a sip of my beverage (ice-tea). "Inattentive _and_ grouchy. You make a fine host," I drawled sarcastically.

Beside me, nursing drinks of their own, Lua and Luca snickered.

"Please remember that the next time you decide to visit…and then maybe you won't."

"My gosh you two argue like a married couple," Crow declared as he shook his head as if to say 'How do I deal with you two?'

Both Jack and I were saved from responding, for it was Carly, who popped up by Jack's side, that spoke.

"You take that back," she declared, pointing accusingly at Crow. "The last thing we need are unnecessary rumours about Jack floating around."

"Why should you care? I thought you quit the Public Relations department," Crow asked, before he mumbled, "Besides Jack's not even affiliated with the Public Security Bureau anymore."

"That may be true," Carly admitted calmly, "But as Jack's publicist, I have to keep a lid on these things."

She gazed at Jack almost dreamily, "We can't have anyone ruining his hard-earned reputation."

Jack hummed in agreement as he went for another sip of his tea, looking something akin to satisfied.

I hadn't expected for Carly to end up being Jack's publicist. I had expected the man to push her away or ignore her as Jack Atlas was wont to do.

That had happened in the canon.

But here and now, though it had only been a few weeks since Carly had begun to represent Jack and the two seemed…closer than one would expect.

 _"_ _Then again I could be reading too much into their relationship."_

My eyes unconsciously flitted to the sole blunette in the room. I observed her tense shoulders and puffed out cheeks as she glared at Carly, who was in the midst of offering to refill Jack's cup. Of course, Ushio was close by her side, looking as if he wanted to say something comforting, but thought better of it.

I shook my head – talk about the beginnings of drama.

"Have you decided what you're going to do about the twins?" Aki questioned from where she stood beside Crow. She glanced at the twins thoughtfully, "Are you still going to be their nanny?"

I gave the twins a comforting smile, when the twins turned their apprehensive gaze towards me.

I nodded my head. "I'm only attending Neo Domino City University as a part-time student. I should have time to look after the twins."

I rolled my eyes fondly at the relieved looks I got from the kids (even though I had spoken with them already). They were really cute sometimes.

"We're always here to help either way," Yusei pointed out.

"Thanks Yusei," I replied gratefully.

I knew that he had a lot on his plate as well – he, Jack and Crow did actually. They were instrumental in gathering support for the building of the bridge that would connect Satellite and Neo Domino City. Jack used his renown in Neo Domino City to rally persons behind him. Crow was a talker and he could get even the toughest of thugs on his side – so he was vital in fostering hope and support with the people of Satellite.

And Yusei, well he was glue that held them all together. He was seen as the 'Saviour of the Satellite' – a moniker which he rarely deferred to. He was also the new 'King of the Riding Duels'. He had already bridged the divide that existed between the people of Neo Domino City and the Satellite. Now all that was left to do was to physically bridge the rift.

And on top of that they were trying to help Martha upgrade her orphanage. It was to be expanded, maybe an entire new building would be built in the yard. Add to that the fact that they had to keep abreast with the dueling field. They were busy people.

It was touching– that despite having so many things going on – that he'd try to find time to help me out.

"You're welcome," Yusei nodded and gave a small smile of his own. It was then that Jack mumbled something under his breath. Crow, having been the only one near him, snickered at whatever he heard.

I ignored them both.

* * *

Two Months Later

The Public Security Bureau went all out with the announcement of the World Racing Grand Prix…or rather the World Riding Duel Grand Prix (though both were initialed WRGP). The entire reason for holding the WRGP was to commemorate the unification of the Satellite Sector and Neo Domino City and propagate international relations – at least that was what the slogan stated.

The announcement took the form of a major press conference to which both Yusei (the present King of Riding Duels) and Jack (the former King) had special invites too. Well, it was more like they were a part of the main panel/the chosen spokespersons for the events. Yeager had more or less sprung it on them (giving them only three weeks' notice) and though Yusei wasn't necessarily keen on being thrown to the general public, he handled the situation admirably.

And needless to say that the only other place that Jack Atlas thrived more than in the spotlight, was on the duel circuit.

The day of the press conference found both Crow and I walking around the venue – the grandiose Pegasus Memorial Hall – just taking in the general atmosphere.

"Man, the vibe around here is intense!" Crow declared as he folded his hands and rested them behind his head (I really couldn't understand how walking like that was comfortable).

I looked around us, watching reporters and photographers and other media personnel buzz around. Photos were being taken, audio and visual equipment – microphones, computers, monitors, speakers etc. – was being set up.

"'History is about to be made'," I mimicked a certain interim director. I even spoke at a higher pitch before breaking off into a snicker.

Crow made a face, "That was too good."

I shrugged.

"Finally the official announcement of the WRGP is here," Crow grinned, fisting his hands and placing them on his hips, "I've been waiting for this for so long."

I shook my head at his excitement. "You found out about it a few weeks ago, same as Yusei and Jack."

We were all supposed to keep the WRGP a secret. Initially only Jack and Yusei were supposed to know about it, but it so turned out that Crow found.

My involvement in all of this was inevitable apparently – I just so happened to be with Crow when he had walked in on Yeager talking to both Jack and Yusei in their apartment. One would think that the clown-boy would hold such an important conversation in an office – a more controlled environment where confidential things would actually remain confidential.

But whatever.

Flash-forward three weeks and Crow and I were tag-alongs at the press release for the WRGP. Lua, Luca and Aki were all in school and I had no classes for the day either.

"I can't wait to get more details!"

Crow was understandably pumped for the world-wide event. And it was easy to feed off of his energy.

If I didn't know that there was much more to this Grand Prix than what was presented, I would have been excited too.

An automated voice sounded through the Hall's speakers:

 _'_ _Ladies and gentlemen the press conference will begin in five minutes.'_

"That's our cue," I pronounced as I started heading towards my assigned seat. Crow followed behind me. "Hopefully this will go smoothly."

* * *

The press release started seamlessly, with Yeager, being escorted by Mikage, coming up to welcome the reporters, media crews and the duelists – from other countries as well as from cities outside of NDC – that had decided to attend. After that he welcomed the panel members.

Jack was the first person out – I gave and amused huff and Crow just rolled his eyes fondly – followed by Yusei and a few other sharply dressed persons, and though I couldn't put names to their faces, they seemed like important big-wigs. They were most likely a few of the major sponsors of the event.

Crow seemed to recognize one of them. And from the solemn look on his face and the way he thoughtlessly spoke the man's name – 'Bolger' – it was obvious that there was some sort of history there.

There were a total of seven panelists – inclusive of Yusei, Jack, Mikage and Yeager.

Of course, Yeager was the one to officially announce the international event that was the World Riding Duel Grand Prix.

What happened after that could have been dubbed 'Reporters Gone Wild' for all intents and purposes. They had been in a frenzy before, but it was after that declaration that they started bombarding the panelists with question after question.

The panelists handled the questions rather well. I knew that Yeager had had Mikage prep Jack and Yusei a couple of times and it was paying off well for them. Then again Jack had been in similar positions like this in the past, so he did have experience. And Yusei was a generally unflappable person.

The both of them looked really cool – not that I'd admit that out loud (especially not to Jack).

Yeager had just finished giving a brief overview of the rules/game-play of the WRGP, promising that copies of the official rules would be sent out to the major media houses by the end of the day.

Then a vaguely familiar reporter with long, blonde hair spoke up. "I have a question for Atlas-san," she voiced confidently. Said turbo duelist seemed exaggeratedly put-upon at having her address him.

Once acknowledged she continued, "Considering your loss to Fudo-san at the Fortune Cup –" Crow winced a bit. "– and given the conventions for the WRGP, will you be setting your differences aside and be dueling with Fudo-san or will you set out to prove yourself and duel against Fudo-san?"

"I don't have to prove myself to anyone," Jack began his reply. He was rather composed though I could hear the pride bleed into his voice.

"Furthermore that was just one loss during one competition. It's not as if I plan on letting Yusei stay on top forever." Here Jack turned his head to stare at Yusei arrogantly, "I plan on doing everything in my power to regain my throne."

Yusei smirked at him and it was obvious from his body language that he welcomed Jack's challenge.

"Well he certainly has the role of drama queen down pat," Crow snickered, knowing full well what Jack was doing. No doubt Jack was pandering to the crowd of people before him. He was milking this 'Will he, Won't he' moment for all it had.

I suspected that was one of the reasons Yeager wanted the two of them on the panel. Their rivalry would definitely get newspapers and TV and radio stations buzzing. Not to mention that they would not only represent Japan (in fact they were duelists representing the host city), but they were a physical representation of the Satellite and New Domino City meeting head-on.

Jack returned his attention to the reporter. "With that said, Yusei and I will be participating in the Grand Prix as a team."

Again, the reporters went into a frenzy.

It was the same blonde reporter that got the next question though, "So who will be the third D-wheeler? Will it be Hogan Crow your room-mate?"

"How does she know that we live together?" Crow asked, his nose scrunched up, "And how does she know my name."

He wasn't the only one who was perturbed at the reporter's knowledge. Yusei's brows furrowed and interpreting the disturbed look for what it was, I couldn't help but giggle.

Jack however, merely raised a brow. He was probably used to reporters and their lack of respect for privacy.

"Of course," he drawled.

I wasn't surprised, already knowing that the guys would have met up and decided this long ago.

Another, nondescript reporter stood from his seat. "It's highly recommended that there be an alternate D-wheeler. Will you have someone fill that role or will it just be the three of you?"

I nodded my head unconsciously. In the anime, Aki had been their alternate D-wheeler. Come to think of it, the red-head would soon want to learn how to become a D-wheeler. I could probably help her with that.

For now, the guys would be without an alternate D-wheeler.

"Our alternate D-wheeler will Kameyo Skylar," Jack answered plainly.

Upon hearing my name my eyes widened and my mouth fell open. Once that moment passed though, my gaze narrowed and I grit my teeth.

" _Jack._ "

* * *

"I don't remember agreeing to that," I glared at Jack. The press conference was over and we – Jack, Crow and I (Yusei had been briefly sequestered by Yeagar for something or the other)– were currently in a small room that was used by both Yusei and Jack a little before the conference began.

"I said that I'd think about it you jerk."

Obviously, the guys had come to me first about being the alternate D-wheeler for their team before Jack had made that pronouncement. But I hadn't agreed to it.

Jack took a sip of the drink he held in his hand. He had perched himself on the nearest chair upon entering the room. The blonde-haired man scoffed at me. "More like you'd _overthink_ it. I saved us all valuable time."

"Excuse me?" I asked confusedly.

"Oh please, don't give me that look," Jack stared back unimpressed. "If I left it up to you to decide you'd have given us an absolutely rubbish answer, 'I don't think I'm the right person', 'I know someone else can do it better'."

He had tried to mimic my voice during the latter part of his spiel.

"I do not sound like that," I replied as heat rose to my face. I refused to acknowledge the fact that both answers were spot on.

I wasn't the right person because…well, I wasn't a part of the original plot so how could I be? And Aki was that 'someone else'. She would have learnt to ride a Runner by the time the team would need an alternate D-wheeler.

Crow had a laugh at my expense. He was leaning against the wall opposite to where Jack and I were.

"Whatever," Jack dismissed my complaint, "Besides you would have ended up agreeing anyway because after that all it'd take for you to say 'yes' is Yusei asking you to do it."

An unbidden yet indignant cry fell from my lips. "What is that supposed to mean? I have a mind of my own thank you very much." I felt my face heat up, though I couldn't blame it all on the fact that I was angry at Jack.

Jack smirked wickedly, looking as if he were some kind of cat playing with a mouse. "It's not about you having a mind of your own. It's about the fact that you and –"

"Aaaannnd that's enough teasing!" Crow suddenly interrupted what Jack was about to say. I looked over to him and found him smiling as he gave me a thumbs up, though his grin seemed a bit too wide for his intentions to be entirely self-less.

Jack snorted.

I leveled them with a decidedly unamused and unimpressed look. Obviously the two had some kind of joke going on and I was the butt of it…or at least a part of it.

Crow chuckled before coming up to me to pat my shoulder. "Good to have you on the team Sky!"

I wasn't necessarily averse to joining Team 5D's for the tournament, it was just that…I didn't…know what to expect – not entirely. A lot of what happened in the latter arcs of the Y5D's series was a blur to me.

I was the Signers' Keeper. What use was I if I couldn't remember what was going to happen? What help would I be then?

I glanced between Crow and Jack both of whom looked expectant.

But doing nothing because I couldn't recall exactly what had happened would be a pretty poor excuse. It would be pathetic actually.

I frowned thoughtfully. I guess I could try wingin' it.

Skylar – Fate of the world on her shoulders.

Plan of action – Wing it.

 _"_ _Yeah that sounds safe and efficient,"_ I mentally snorted. I ruffled my hair, I really did overthink things a lot.

"Alright," I finally answered, "Let's see where this goes."

Crow whooped and Jack smirked victoriously.

"Took you long enough."

* * *

Word Count: 3556

* * *

Omake

Time-line: During the Press Conference

Location: Duel Academy

Start

"I really wanted to go with Nii-san!" Lua whined as he, Luca and their friends gathered around his tablet. It was lunch time at the Duel Academy and they were currently viewing the live-stream of the 'History Defining Announcement' by the Public Security Maintenance Bureau.

Luca sighed from her perch on the bench. "Me too."

"Your Nii-san is there?" Patty asked curiously.

"You mean the cross-dresser?" came the mocking comment.

A vein in Lua's head pulsed. "And why are you here?" he asked fiercely as he glared at Sly.

"Don't even start you two," Luca reprimanded the two boys.

All the kids eventually returned their attention to the screen in Lua's hands. They watched as the reporters and journalists that were there asked questions of the panelists. Every time Yusei or Jack would come on Lua would easily make a comment on how well they answered that question or how cool they looked.

His friends were indulgent – mostly – and only called him out on a few occasions.

"What are you guys doing?" Lua looked up to see Aki, adorned in her Duel Academy uniform, just as they all were, walk towards them. When she came to a stop, Lua held out his tablet to her, much to the displeasure of everyone else.

"We're watching the press conference with Jack and Yusei," he answered.

"Oh," was her muted response. Lua looked at her curiously but ultimately decided to return his focus to the video, bringing the tablet towards him so that he and the others could view it properly.

"So Yusei, Jack and Crow are a team?" Dexter asked after Jack had answer a question from one of the reporters, "Man this tournament is gonna be so cool."

Aki honestly had mixed feelings about the tournament.

Like Lua and Luca, she had found out about the press conference only days ago. While the red-head understood the need for confidentiality…well she couldn't help but feel a bit left out.

She knew that no one – not Yusei, Jack, Crow or Skylar – meant for any of them to feel left out. But…

How else could she feel when they were all at another level?

So while she was excited about the up and coming international tournament, from the information she had gleamed thus far – it was solely for Turbo Duelists.

One of whom she was not.

She thought it would be interesting though – to experience what they experienced when they got onto a duel circuit. To feel the thrill of…everything and to finally understand and have that connection that Turbo Duelists seemed to have with each other.

"Awesome!" Lua suddenly cheered as he jumped to his feet, ignoring the protests of those around him. The blue-green haired boy just grinned in response, "Nii-san's going to be a part of the Grand Prix."

He fist pumped and his sister rolled her eyes in response, though she seemed almost as giddy as he was. Soon enough grey-gold irises tuned to her, eager.

"Isn't that great Aki-nee-chan?"

Aki gave a waning smile.

It was, it really was. And she was happy and excited for them, for all of them. She really was. But she couldn't quite crush the feeling of _desirewant_ that had suddenly propelled itself to the fore of her mind.

End

* * *

Omake

Time-line: Post Dark Signer Arc

Location: A hospital in Neo Domino City

Start

I reclined on the bed comfortably, pencil in hand and sketchpad in my lap. I relished in the silence around me – well save for the birds that chirped just outside of the single open window in the room. It had been far too long since I'd been able to just…get away and just draw whatever I thought, whatever I felt.

These days I tended to draw a lot of scenery. The quiet, calm stillness of nature was just what I needed after the chaotic ride I went on with the Dark Signers.

I should have carried my pastels, though.

To be honestly, I had come to this place on a whim. I hadn't really given anyone any notice either. Maybe I should have.

But then again, I found it refreshing – the fact that I had done something on a whim, 'spur of the moment' if you will.

Maybe I should do it more often.

"Nii-san!"

…Or maybe not…

The hospital door slid open as two blue-green haired teens burst into the room. Golden irises flitted around the room, before they immediately zeroed in on my bed-ridden form.

"Nii-san, why are you in the hospital?" Lua demanded as both he and his sister bounded up to my bed.

I sighed indulgently and gave them a fond smile.

"I had said that I would check myself into a hospital," I commented as my eyes flitted from them to the open door. I doubted that they came alone.

Moments later, I was proven right. Oddly enough, I noted everyone's hair colour first – Aki's blood red, Crow's bright orange, Jack's glossy blonde, and Yusei's black hair (with yellow highlights). Add in Lua and Luca's blue-green made and you had an interesting assortment of hair colours.

But I digress. We were still coming out of the whole Dark Signer thing– just a few weeks really, but we were…we were like some kind of set, a clique. Where one of the Signers were, chances were one or two other Signers were there.

"Most people take a vacation or go to a spa," Jack drawled, "Not check themselves into the hospital."

I shrugged, not bothering to reply.

"You should have told us where you were going," Aki frowned lightly, "We were worried when we found out that you were suddenly in the hospital."

An amused smile made its way to my lips. I was being chided. That wasn't something that happened often. I was usually the one who ended up reprimanding the twins. Not to mention I so used to looking out for myself and doing my own thing.

When I said as much, it was Crow that commented.

"Tell me about it," he spoke casually, hands on his sides, "But obviously things are different now. We have to work together. We're like super-heroes now."

It was at that statement that Lua suddenly seemed as if he had stars in his eyes. "That. Is. So. Cool!"

I snorted at his exuberance.

Jack pressed a hand to his temple before glowering lightly at Crow, "You just had to put it that way didn't you?"

"We're a team now," Yusei declared stepping up before his two foster brothers could get into a verbal spat. "We're not on our own anymore. We'll take care of each other."

I chuckled.

"Fair enough," I nodded in acquiescence, "Fair enough."

End

* * *

A/N: I hope that all has been well. It has been a couple of months since the last update. I honestly lost the desire to write anything for this fic for a long while, but I'm mostly okay now. This chapter is a filler-type chapter - I thought the idea of Yusei and Jack at a press conference for the WRGP would be cool. And of course, y'all know that Sky will be the Alternate D-wheeler for Team 5D's as opposed to her being on another team...though...you never know what might happen...heh. Like I said, I'm looking forward to exploring the relationships of the characters - mainly Sky's relationship with the whole lot though.

I actually wrote a few more omakes, but I'll leave them for future chapters.

And on another note, I'm looking forward to writing the Bonds Beyond Time movie with Skylar involved. I'm a total nut for time travel fics, so to have a chance to write a mini-time travel arc/piece has me excited.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed/viewed/favourited/followed. My apologies if I did not reply to someone's review. Each review still remains special to me though, be it from a member or a guest. I appreciate the support.

Constructive criticism/comments/questions/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

U.P.: Sign Out


	31. Chapter 31

I do not own Yu-gi-oh!5D's

Chapter 31 – Domestic Affairs

 _–_ _Live life for the moment because everything else is uncertain –_ Louis Tomlinson

* * *

It had gotten particularly busy for me over the past few months.

Of course, following the press conference for the WRGP, there was a lot of buzz about it in the media that I knew would've continue for weeks on end.

Yeager had been preening about the number of applications that were flooding in from all over. These applications were from persons – dueling teams – who sought entry into the World Riding Dueling Prix.

The WRGP wasn't an invitation only event – a move that was criticized just as much as it was lauded. The Public Security Bureau wanted to maintain their 'Fairness for all/Equal opportunity' image, but the higher ups and a few of the sponsors were worried about the quality of the duels in the event.

I wasn't too sure how they were handling things at the executive level in that regard but there I assumed that there was some kind of criteria that the duel teams had to measure up to – either individually and/or as a group.

Another interesting factoid was that the WRGP had been in the works since Goodwin had been in power. Though if he had direct involvement in it while he was in office…well I knew Yliaster didn't necessarily keep their puppets in the loop.

As I said I wasn't too sure.

What I knew of the selection process for the Grand Prix was only due to Mikage and what she shared whenever she found herself at Poppo's Time Shop. Mikage had taken it upon herself to disseminate information to Team 5D's (except no one called them (us) that save for me…and I only did so in my head).

I wanted to comment on how a person so high up at the Public Security Bureau – she was now Chief of Special Investigations – shouldn't show such bias, but I refrained. She always seemed so happy whenever she spoke to Jack and even though she tried her best to hide her crush, the more observant ones – like Yusei and I, saw it as clear as day.

Another person who noticed Mikage's fawning and was annoyed by it, was Ushio, who was her deputy. I was marginally curious as to how they went about promoting the personnel in the Public Bureau. But I suppose, even though no one, save for Team 5D's, Mikage, Ushio and the revived once Dark Signers, could recall exact details of the 5000 years in the making celestial war, many individuals were aware that _something_ had happened.

Ushio had been a part of settling the 'unexplained and catastrophic unrest' (what many newspapers had dubbed that time) that had spread through Neo Domino City and Satellite. Considering that, then presumably the promotion was well-deserved.

It was good for him – and not just the promotion.

Unexpectedly, Ushio had adopted a kid. The little boy, Takuya, who had stuck to Ushio like glue back when we had all been in the Satellite, had earned himself an irreplaceable spot in the Bureau worker's heart.

I didn't know all the older man's family history but I figured that it was a step in the right direction and besides an orphan had found a home – that was good, fantastic truly.

Anyway, with the international duel event officially announced and with Jack having made the statement that he had, reporters flocked/stalked us, the newly formed dueling group, asking questions, asking for interviews, trying to pry into our otherwise personal/private lives.

I was starting to get paranoid.

"Suck it up," Jack commented bluntly when I had shared my views on the matter.

We were currently training at a place called the D-wheeler's Dynasty – so dubbed by Jack. It was a dirt-road circuit, which had no doubt been used for some of the earlier riding duels, that Jack had chanced upon during his first couple of months in Neo Domino City.

"If you can't handle so little attention, then how are you going to duel in front of a stadium full of people? Not to mention the millions that will be watching from around the world."

"I was in the Fortune Cup," I mumbled. The bottom line was that I'd dueled before crowds of persons before.

If the blond had heard me, he didn't give any indication that he did.

"You keep hesitating at major turns," Jack expressed matter-of-factly as we watched a replay of the race that we just had, "In riding duels it's all or nothing. Holding back won't do you any good."

Although I loathed to admit it out loud – Jack Atlas made for an excellent teacher.

Thus far we'd gone around the D-wheeler's Dynasty more times than I cared to count. Each run was recorded and Jack made it a point to meticulously analyse every turn. I took note of what he said as diligently as I could and then did my best to put it into practice.

We'd been at it for hours.

The man was determined to whip me into shape for the Grand Prix. Particularly he'd said – 'If the spare tire isn't up to standard, does it make sense to want to use it in a race?'

Without a doubt, he and I had it out right after, but ultimately, I saw what he was getting at.

It was true that I wasn't in his league (or Yusei's or Crow's) – neither in dueling nor when it came to technical skills on a D-wheel. I wasn't bad per se, but all three of them had way more experience in dueling and turbo dueling. But I was resolute in the fact that I wanted to improve.

I would become better, greater.

Jack continued his lecture as we watched the Wheel of Fortune's monitor. "What we do is dangerous, I get that."

I mentally snorted. We were playing card games on motorcycles at break neck speed – 'dangerous' didn't even begin to cover it.

"But you can't duel with fear. You'll only go so far and no further."

I tilted my head in acceptance – I'd told myself that a thousand times already. I straightened from the crouch my body had been in when I was peering at Jack's monitor. I rolled my shoulders attempting to release some of the tension that had built up.

I was about to suggest a break when the tell-tale hum of an approaching D-wheel's engine diverted my attention. Looking in the direction that the sound was coming from, two figures soon came into view.

I beamed as the Blackbird and Yusei Go pulled up to Jack and I.

"Yo Jack! Sky!" Crow greeted brightly as he removed his helmet. Honestly, at times the amount of positive energy that Crow had could power a city.

"Hey guys," Yusei spoke his own greeting as he too removed his helmet.

"What are you two doing at my training session?" Jack groused. Beside him I rolled my eyes. He had a weird way of showing his affection for his friends.

"We just wanted to make sure that you two hadn't killed each other," Crow stated cheerily.

Yusei ignored his two foster brothers as they proceeded to bicker, directing his attention to me instead. "How are you holding up?"

I glanced down to see if I looked as bad as I felt. I didn't, thankfully.

I appraised the two-piece riding gear I wore – a black riot leather jacket (long-sleeved, short snap collar, offset zipper and front zip pockets) and a leather riding pants (perforated and with laminated reflection at upper legs and calves). From the falls I'd taken, courtesy of Jack's numerous attempts at running me off course, it only sported a few scratches and no rips. The clothing had been a gift from my aunt and while it was a bit more close-fitting than what I usually wore, thankfully it was just as durable as my previous gear.

"Better than I thought I would," I answered returning my gaze to him.

"You should give yourself more credit," he communicated earnestly, "Jack says you're doing well."

My lips quirked into an amused grin as I gave the blond a sideways glance. Jack Atlas complimented me?

Feeling the weight of my stare, Jack ceased his squabbling with Crow to comment, "When you're being coached by Atlas Jack, of course you'll improve."

"Ah," I nodded. As expected, he made it about himself.

"Anyway," Crow drawled as a rejoinder as he turned to rummage through the luggage attached to the rear of his D-wheel, "The real reason we came was to deliver lunch!"

The orange-haired duelist presented two bags shoulder high and I felt my spirits soar.

Jack scoffed, "Crow we don't have time –"

"It's ramen from that restaurant we went to a while back."

"– to waste standing around. The food will get cold."

Yusei and I chuckled, while Crow looked rightly smug as the bags were promptly snatched from his hands by the former King of Riding Duels. It was a wonder as to why none of the guys were sick of ramen when they ate it so often.

 _"_ _Maybe I should cook for them."_

Considering all that the three of them were doing for me, it seemed like one of the least things that I could do. I had no doubt that they'd be thankful for it…as long as I didn't make Aki and Luca help that is. But what kind of food would they like? I'd only ever seen them eat ramen…and beef and pork, but such meats were expensive. Although it wouldn't be that much of a burden for me to buy it.

"Sky sit down," Crow ordered with a mouthful of food, interrupting my deliberation.

I looked at my three male companions blankly and saw how they were all peacefully seated on the ground, each with their meal before them. How did they get all the food out and manage to sit together in a perfect circle without me noticing?

"You zoned out," Yusei, reading my expression, remarked as he used his chopsticks to stir his bowl of noodles.

Figures.

I shrugged, sinking to the grassy surface to take the open space that the boys had left for me. Folding my legs comfortably, I reached for the bowl and chopsticks that had been left for me.

"Itadakimasu," I mumbled before digging into my meal and as we ate everything was silent except for the sound of noodles being slurped up. It was at that moment that I noticed how…domestic and cozy all this was.

I'd gotten to enjoy moments like these – the peace.

I looked towards the sky – it was clear save the few wispy clouds that floated by. I sighed blithely.

"Next time let's eat Sōmen."

* * *

"Come to think of it," Crow yawned, "I don't think I've ever seen Sky perform a Synchro summon. It's always just her using her level up monsters."

We'd finished eating fifteen minutes ago yet no one had the inclination to move from our current positions.

"The monsters that she summons are usually just as powerful as Synchro monsters though," Yusei offered.

"It all comes down to the person's style of dueling," Jack added his bit, "And if she wants to stick with a dated form of dueling, it doesn't matter to me as long as she wins."

The sole utilization of special summoning LV type monsters, while less popular, was not dated, as the blond implied. As per usual, Jack was taking a jab at me.

"Thanks Jack," I deadpanned before continuing evenly, "Honestly, I just haven't found the right Synchro monster that fits my dueling style."

Yusei nodded, "You mainly use Spellcasters. I can only think of a handful of Spellcaster Synchro monsters."

"There's no problem with a deck having a particular specialty. What's important is how you compete with your deck," Jack interrupted, "For instance what will you do if you come across someone whose deck counters your Spellcaster type deck to the 'T'? It wouldn't be a bad idea to have a few non-Spellcaster monsters – Synchro or otherwise."

Sure enough, Jack was right. And it wasn't as if I hadn't come across a few non-Spellcaster Synchro monsters. It was just that…none of them _felt_ right.

"Variation can add to the balance of your deck and give you a better chance at winning duels, especially duels where you don't know your opponent's deck type."

I nodded as Jack lectured me. I'd heard it all before but coming from Jack…well I just appreciated hearing it from him. I'd never admit it out loud in the presence of company outside of our little circle, but I was truly thankful to Jack.

He of all persons was the first to offer to train me…okay so he more like demanded that I be 'brought up to standard' and gave me no choice…but he was there.

He was a friend – my friend.

* * *

A plethora of things were left to be done in preparation for the Grand Prix, aside from the sharpening of duel skills. For one, Yusei was dead set on designing and building a new engine for the team's D-wheels. Which was why most days, when I didn't practice turbo dueling with the guys or on my own, my Kame-Ha[1] remained at Poppo's Time Shop.

Jack and Crow, as expected, were doing their best to help, principally when it came to doing pilot tests.

So far, they'd been at it for a week or so and I'd barely seen hide or tail of them. I just hoped that they weren't running themselves ragged, mainly Yusei. But knowing Yusei, he wouldn't stop until he was absolutely satisfied with the new device. I admired his tenaciousness. Granted that was a trait that all three foster brothers shared. They were going all out for what they wanted.

My musing was cut short when, from the pool-side lounge chair that I was reclining on, I heard the usual beeping sound the front door made when it was being opened.

"Nii-san! We're home!" Lua's hollering brought a smile to my face. He was so full of energy these days – as children should be. I had returned to the twins' roof top apartment an hour ago. It was just past 3 p.m. and these days 3 p.m. felt as hot as if it were noon.

The sound of running feet was heard as Lua and Luca entered the pool area.

"Welcome home," I greeted them. The smiles that they flashed my way were all teeth.

"Aki-nee-chan is here with us," Luca informed me, "She went to change into her swimsuit."

"And we're gonna change into ours!" Lua declared as he began to drag his sister inside. "Be right back!"

So yeah, Aki was helping me learn how to swim. Fun fact – Aki was a certified lifeguard. Apparently, she became licensed alongside her parents. It was one of their re-connection/family bonding exercises. I was relieved that Aki and her parents were doing their best to repair and strengthen their bonds. These days Aki smiled more and was more honest with her feelings. She still held back many things and no one expected the scars – the years of psychological damage – to fade immediately, but it was a process and she was on the right track.

We'd started these classes some weeks ago though they were only once or twice for each week. It was a good thing to keep active.

"Are you ready for your lesson?" Aki asked in lieu of a greeting as she appeared pool side, kick-board in hand. She walked confidently adorned in a simple red one piece, with board shorts drawn over it. She looked gorgeous as she did in whatever she chose to wore.

I wore a black and blue striped tankini top with black boy shorts. For both of us, our Signer marks were uncovered. We still covered them in public, sure, but when we were just around each other the fact that we were comfortable enough to have them exposed was testament to how far we both had come. Aki had viewed her mark as a curse and I had viewed mine as a burden. Those feelings still lingered but at the very least we had become more at ease in our own skins.

"Yeah," I answered standing and grabbing my nearby swim cap and goggles. As I put on my cap, Aki tied her hair back and then held up the kick-board cheerfully.

"Maybe this time Lua and Luca won't swim literal circles around you."

I laughed loudly – if only.

* * *

Yeager bit the fingers of his gloved hands worriedly, if only to prevent his hands from moving to his head and dragging out his hair.

A meteorite.

They were approximately a year away from the WRGP and a meteorite decides to crash near the City?

Of all the bad luck.

He was going to be up to his red lipstick in paperwork. And he already had so many other things to deal with – the rising instances of duel gangs and other duel related crimes, improving regulations for the scrap metal industry and not to mention all the other non-duel related crimes that occurred within Neo Domino City.

Yeager gave an audible sigh of defeat as he slumped further into the seat of the Security vehicle he rode in. Already they were ten minutes away from the crash site.

He had a feeling that a whole new sort of trouble was about to begin. And he'd thought that those times had ended with Godwin's disappearance.

* * *

The pain came suddenly and without warning.

I was seated in the back of a taxi having been on my way to school – I preferred early morning classes and the University that I was attending was only 30 minutes away from the twins' home – when my right arm throbbed. An all too familiar burning sensation originated from the mark on my arm and I unconsciously grabbed hold of it.

The taxi driver didn't notice me flinching. Instead the car came to a jerky stop and the driver hastily exited the vehicle so that he could get out and gawk at the sky.

But whiplash was the last thing on my mind at that point.

I quickly exited the car and still clutching my right limb, I turned my gaze skywards.

Whatever it was that was falling – it shone brightly. It could easily have been mistaken for a meteorite hurtling towards the Earth's surface.

But I knew better.

Just by looking at it – just by watching it disappear towards the outskirts of the city and seeing the abrupt flash of light that followed its collision – I felt unsettled.

I re-focused on the appendage that I gripped with my left hand.

That was when the whispers started.

 ** _'_** ** _Yliaster'_**

The voice – I recognized it.

 ** _'_** ** _The Circuit'_**

The Crimson Dragon. As usual the voice was quiet, still yet it reverberated through my mind with an alarming intensity.

However, I decided to save any questions that I had for a later time. I shut my eyes and tried to concentrated on hearing more clearly.

 ** _'_** ** _A Star of Destruction'_**

What did that mean?

 ** _'_** ** _Aporia'_**

That was the last thing that I heard before the murmurs stopped. My eyelids flickered open and I scrutinized at the insignia imprinted on my skin in bewilderment.

 _"_ _The Circuit."_ – that was a new one.

"A star of destruction," I muttered, a frown marring my face, "Aporia."

That last word – it was the name of something…or was it someone? But why of all the words had the name 'Aporia' made me the most apprehensive? What did it mean?

.

.

.

.

 _Just what or who was 'Aporia'?_

* * *

Word Count: 3265

* * *

A/N: I apologize for taking sooo long to update. Let's just chalk the reason up to real life and bad luck. Anyway, although the chapter is a bit choppy, I enjoyed writing about what's been happening with Sky, the guys and Aki. I feel like the characters are going somewhere. For those of you who are curious, we are at the beginning of Episode 65 at this point.

Also there's a poll on my profile. I'd like to know how many of you would like to see Bruno/Antimony saved. I haven't decided whether or not he should survive and don't get me wrong I love the character. The results of the poll won't decide his fate though, I'm honestly just curious. The poll will be closed on June 4, 2017.

I plan on editing/revising the earlier chapters of this story. Any major i.e. plot changing edits I make (if any) will be noted at the end of such chapters.

I've been at this story for two years now – wow wow. It's been a journey. I honestly want to say thank you to everyone who has been with me up 'til this point. I can't say it enough - thank you for you support. I greatly appreciate it.

Thank you to everyone that favourited/followed/reviewed.

Constructive Criticism/Comments/Queries/Suggestions are welcomed.

Thanks for reading.

U.P.: Sign Out

* * *

[1] That is the name of the D-wheel. It means Turtle Wave


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